Desire of The Soul
by Mickey Rae
Summary: It's Jack's first day at his new school, Seaford High. The first person he meets is a girl, blond hair, black framed glasses, and very shy. He doesn't know why he's so interested in this girl, but he can't seem to get her off of his mind. But when he learns about her past, will he still feel the same way? Better than it sounds. R&R!
1. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face

**Hey! Mickey-D back with another story! Alright, so here is yet another story that popped into my head. That seemed to work with **_**Love in Handcuffs**_**, so...I'll give this a shot too :)**

** Personally, I've always wondered what it would be like if Kim wasn't the 'oh so tough' girl she is on the show, so I came up with this story.**

** I'm not sure how many chapters I should make it yet, I'm kind of just going with the flow, but for now...Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever owned, Kickin' It.**

* * *

Seaford High School.

Jack sighed, that was the new school he was going to. The tenth new school he had gone to in the past ten years. Yeah, that's right, a new school every year.

"I promise that this is the last time we're moving." Jack's mom, Melanie, said as they drove down the paved road and away from his new house, towards the new school.

"That's what you said the last four times." Jack muttered under his breath. "And what's worse is that this time I have to start school in the middle of the school year!" He saw his mother flinch at the harshness in his tone.

Jack suddenly felt guilty. He always got along with his mom, it had been just the two of them ever since his dad died when he was three. It was always around this time, when they would first move, that Jack would act like this around her. So angry and upset, for a while sometimes he'd even try to ignore her.

"Look," His mom said, returning the angry tone of voice. "I know you're upset, but you do not talk to your mother like that, Mister."

Jack rolled his eyes and looked back out the window, crossing his arms over his chest.

The rest of the drive was silent, until finally they pulled up in front of the school. "Jack," His mom said quietly, all the anger disappeared. He looked to her with a slight glare in his expression. "Just don't get into any trouble, alright?" She pleaded.

Jack sighed, nodding. "I won't, I promise." He replied. Jack tossed his bag over his shoulder and stepped out of the car, watching as it hurried off down the street again. He turned around and saw his new school for the first time. It was bigger than the last few he'd gone too, and the bell was a lot louder...wait, the bell!

Jack swore under his breath and began running as fast as his feet could carry him, bursting through the doors loudly, bolting through the halls-

"Umph!" Jack ran into someone as he rounded a corner, knocking them both to the ground with a thud. He groaned and sat up, getting a look at the person he'd ran into for the first time. There before him was a girl his age, with golden blond hair pulled back into a messy ponytail, and chocolate brown eyes that were hidden behind her thick, black framed glasses. The girl looked up at him, her expression showing fear and worry.

"I-I'm sorry!" She stuttered, reaching her hands shakily across the tiled floor to pick up the things that had fallen out of his backpack, putting them quickly back in.

"Whoa, whoa!" Jack grabbed her wrists to stop her movements and she froze, tensing slightly. "I ran into you, it's my fault. So, why are you apologizing?" He asked her curiously.

She stayed frozen for a few more seconds before she wrenched her hands out of his grip and began picking up her own things. "I don't know, I guess I'm just used to it." She replied, averting his eyes. She stood up from the ground and hurried off down the halls again. Jack stood up and watched her run away, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

* * *

Jack squinted his eyes so he could read the small writing of his new schedule.

Second period: Math-Mr. Turner Room 307.

Jack had missed his first class, due to the encounter with the girl in the hallway, and then having to go the principal's office to get his schedule and locker.

He made his way down the maze of hallways, finally finding the right room. Jack walked in and saw all the students already seated. They all went quiet as he walked in the room, the girls whispering things like "He's hot", "He must be the new kid, he's cute" or "Do you think he's single?", while the guys said "He looks like he'd be good for the football team" and "Damn, all the girls like him".

Jack ignored all of them, going straight over to the teacher. He sent Jack to the back table of the class, telling him that his partner was late. He simply nodded, going to take his seat.

Just as he sat down on the stool and set his books on the table in front of him, the door to the room burst open again, and the girl Jack had knocked over in the hallway earlier walked in. All the eyes in the room shifted from Jack and moved to stare at her. She looked down at the hard ground, her shoulders hunching slightly and her hair dropping over her face, as dark pink stained her pale cheeks. She mumbled a quick apology to the teacher before she started down the isle between the desks, holding her books tightly to her chest much like a small child would to a teddy bear when they were scared.

Jack could only watch as a boy stuck his foot out in front of her, causing her to trip and fall to her knees to the floor, her books falling from her arms and scattering everywhere. She sighed to herself and picked up her things, standing up once again. Jack looked passed the snickering students to the teacher, finding that he was preoccupied with writing something in chalk on the board.

The girl finally made her way to the back of the room, stumbling, and took her seat...the one next to Jack. He peered over at her slightly, but she averted her eyes away from him as she had done before, choosing instead to stare at an apparently interesting blank piece of paper on the large desk.

The teacher came around the classroom, handing everyone a worksheet. He stopped in front of Jack's table and smiled at him before looking to the girl. "Kim, can you help Jack if he doesn't understand what we're learning? He's new."

Kim. So that was the girl's name. Jack found himself thinking of how pretty that name was, it seemed to suit her so perfectly even though Jack didn't know her at all.

Kim nodded, still not meeting Jack's eyes. The teacher walked back to his desk and started grading papers, as Jack looked down at the first question on the sheet.

15x(4y+17) + 3xy(12x-5)

His eyebrows furrowed and he bit his lip as he concentrated on the numbers before him, but the first step he was supposed to make didn't come to mind. He internally groaned as half an hour passed and he still had nothing written down.

Then he heard a quiet giggle. Jack looked to the side to see the girl, Kim, covering her mouth with with a slim hand to hold back another giggle. She pushed her worksheet over to him slightly, and he could see that she had finished all thirty questions already.

"Thanks." He whispered to her, blushing slightly at his lack of intelligence. He memorized the steps and answered the questions with the help of her worksheet.

The bell went, signalling the end of class, and all the students left the room, except for Kim, who went around and collected everyone's worksheets, bringing them up to the teacher.

Kim turned around to head back to her desk, only to see Jack still standing there. She looked down shyly again and brushed passed him, going over to their table and grabbing her books. Jack walked over to her and stopped her before she could leave. "So, your name's Kim, right?" He asked her, though the name was for whatever reason etched deeply into his mind.

She nodded slightly but still didn't meet his eyes. "Yeah."

Jack smiled at her. "I'm Jack." He held out a hand to her, and she looked at it in confusion, like it was a foreign object.

Hesitantly, she lifted her hand and tucked it into his. Jack held back a gasp as sparks shot up his arm, and the two of them pulled their hands away instantly.

"It's nice to meet you Jack." Kim said, giving him a small smile and leaving out the door of the classroom.

* * *

Jack's classes passed by surprisingly fast, and he found himself in the lunch line of the cafeteria. He scrunched his nose as he looked at all the food choices. Meatloaf? Potatoes? Corn nibblets? Gravy? It all looked like mush to him.

"Dude, it's probably not a good idea to try and eat that stuff." A tall boy with dark hair said from beside him. "I forgot my lunch one day and had to eat some, let's just say I killed my toilet at home. Just take something from the fruit bowl, that's all that's edible in this place, and then from now on, pack your own lunch."

"Thanks." Jack replied, snatching an apple from the bright orange fruit bowl at the end of the lunch line.

The boy shrugged back at him and held out a hand. "I'm Jerry." He said with a smile.

"I'm Jack." He shook Jerry's hand slightly.

"You wanna come sit with me and my friends?" Jerry asked him.

Jack shrugged. "Sure." He replied, following Jerry through the crowd of tables and over to one close to the wall, occupied with a skinny ginger boy in nerdy clothing and a short, chubby African-American boy with braces.

"Hey guys, this is Jack, the new kid." Jerry said, taking a seat between the two boys.

"Hey." The both said, smiling at Jack and giving him a small wave. "I'm Eddie." The African-American boy said.

"And I'm Milton." The ginger boy added. Jack took a seat on the other side of him and began eating his apple.

The three boys started rambling on about having a Call of Duty game marathon on Saturday, and Jack let his eyes explore the cafeteria. He saw his science partner, Jeff, sitting at the other end with a few other guys and some cheerleaders. Jack didn't mind Jeff, he seemed like a fairly nice guy, all he really knew about him was that he was the captain of the basketball team and was super popular.

Jack moved his gaze over to the lunch line, where he caught a glimpse of blond hair. The girl turned, revealing to Jack that it was who he had thought: Kim. She looked around the cafeteria and noticed that there were no empty tables. Jack saw her curse under her breath as she made her way over to an occupied table and sat down in the empty seat.

There were three boys and two girls seated at there, and when Kim sat down, they all exchanged disgusted glances and got up, leaving the table. Even from far away, Jack could see the hurt in Kim's eyes, but something about her look also told him that this wasn't the first time it had happened.

Jack looked around the table to see that the rest of the boys were looking at her too, hints of sympathy in their eyes. Milton sighed. "I'll go ask her." He said, standing up from his chair. He took a deep breath and walked over to her, the three boys watching as they started a conversation.

Jack turned to Jerry. "Why does he look so nervous? Does he like her or something?" He asked.

Jerry almost spit out the water he was currently sipping at. "No!" He replied, then sighed. "I'm sure you've noticed how people treat her." Jack nodded slowly, his eyebrows furrowing. Jerry continued. "Her parents are total drunks and everyone judges her for that. There was one day a couple months back when she came to school and they all started bullying her and treating her like crap. It was because a rumor had started about her dad raping her while he was drunk one night. It's not true, but who's gonna believe her."

Eddie sighed and piped up. "She's actually a really nice girl, but anyone that even tries to talk to her, gets bullied too. That's why Milton was so nervous, because we all know the consequences of what he's doing."

"We take turns, every few days we'll ask her to join us for lunch, but every time, she says no." Jerry said.

Jack's eyebrows furrowed even further. "Why would she do that?" Jerry just shrugged in response.

By this time, Milton had come back over to the table and sat down. "So..." Eddie asked.

Milton shrugged. "She said no again, and when I asked her why, she said it's because she doesn't want to cause us any trouble." He explained.

A silence fell over the table and the rest of the guys resumed eating their food, but Jack had suddenly lost his appetite.

He looked over at Kim again and watched as she just sat there, staring at the food in front of her. She seemed to have felt Jack's eyes on her, because a second later, she looked up at him, giving him a sad smile that turned out as more of a grimace.

* * *

Later that night, around eleven o'clock, Jack laid in his bed, on his side, a hand tucked under the pillow for support. His eyes refused to stay closed, and he groaned once again, turning over so he was staring up at the ceiling.

The only thing on his mind was the girl, Kim. He didn't know why though, he didn't even really know her!

He remembered the smile she'd given him, the way it somehow made his heart flutter inside his chest.

He remembered her giggle, and even laying there in bed, Jack felt shivers run up his spine as it played through his head.

It hurt him to see her bullied, when what people thought about her wasn't even true. Of course, he didn't know that for sure, but he trusted his new friends enough to believe them.

Jack groaned loudly, running his hands through his messy brown hair, and down his face. He took a deep breath a turned over once more, shutting his eyes tight.

* * *

**There ya have it folks! The first chapter!  
**

** Now, I need a little bit of help, so here is a question you can answer along with a review:**

** Would you rather I make short chapters (approximately 1000 words) and update everyday, or I make longer chapters (approximately 2000-3000 words or higher) and update every three-four days?**

** Also, if you have an idea of where this story could go, let me know, but I do have the next few chapter already written so I will only take some ideas into consideration after them.**

** Okay! Now that that's over, REVIEW! Tell me what you think of the story so far!**


	2. On My Own

**OMG! I have twenty reviews! That is the MOST I have ever gotten for one chapter! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!**

**Okay, now, I counted up the answers to my question in the first chapter and most people wanted me to update every 2-3 days with chapters about 2000-3000 words or higher. The only thing is that with my personal issues right now, my writing schedule is all over the place. I WILL try really hard to update on Sunday or Monday :)  
**

**A note to bluezkyz101: There will be some Jack action coming soon! I promise :D  
**

**Anyways, Enjoy :)  
**

* * *

Kim hugged her extra books closer to her chest as she made her way down the paved sidewalk, her bag nudging the side of her leg with each step. The bright sun blazed down in rays, hitting the back of her neck and arms with sprinkles of heat.

As she passed the parking lot of the school, she spotted the new kid, Jack, getting into the passenger side of a blue Honda car.

Jack. Even the name alone made him more attractive than he already was. Kim had to admit that she liked the boy a lot, but she knew that he would never, could never possibly like her back. She was loser. A loser with alcoholics for parents. She'd excepted that fact a long time ago.

Kim hadn't seen Jack since lunch, when he'd given her a sympathetic smile. She realized that he must know about everything now, which heightened her fears of him treating her just like everybody else at school did.

Maybe he'd be like those three boys: Milton, Eddie and Jerry. They were kind to her and always invited her to sit with them at lunch, even though they knew what would happen if she did.

Every time, Kim told them no. They didn't seem to understand, but she feared that if she took advantage of their offers, people would start bullying them too, until they hated her just like everyone else, and then she would truly be alone.

Kim shook away her thoughts and looked to see that she was already at the mall. She walked through the crowds of people, all scattering around to get to different stores. She was bumped many times, but that was nothing new to her. She was invisible.

She got to the courtyard finally and went into her favorite restaurant, Falafel Phil's. She sat down in her regular seat with an order of falafel balls and pulled out her English homework.

All she had to do was write a simple 2,000 word story on anything she wanted. With Kim's variety of experiences in life, she had billions of ideas running through her head. She was a great writer, and most people would think that she would write dark stories, like she was goth or something, but Kim wrote many stories that were happy, ones that she could read over and pretend her life was as gleeful as it was.

Kim mindlessly started scribbling words down on the page in front of her, and when she realized what she was doing she pulled her hand back. She glanced down at the story, already five hundred words.

_I locked eyes with a boy across the room. I watched him curiously as he made his way through the crowds of people over to me.  
_

_"Would you like to dance?" He asked, holding out a hand to me.  
_

_I bit my lip and stared at the hand, contemplating what I should do. Finally, I reached out and tucked my hand into his. "Sure." I replied.  
_

_He smiled at me, a heart melting smile that made my knees go weak beneath me. I walked with him to the dance floor and we got into position. My eyes met with my feet, trying to make them move in the right way with no success. "You look beautiful." The boy suddenly said.  
_

_I looked up and met his eyes once again, blush rising to my cheeks. "You don't mean that."  
_

_He raised his eyebrows at me. "Well of course I mean it, I would lie to radiant girl such as yourself." Suddenly, I was lifted off my feet and spun around in a full circle. The boy laughed and set me down once again.  
_

_"Thank you." I said, grinning widely at him. He shrugged and we began dancing once again. I managed to trip over my own feet and fall into his chest. I picked myself up and laughed, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'm not that great of a dancer."  
_

_The boy chuckled. "I think you're doing pretty well."_

_I giggled and shook my head at him. "Okay, now you are lying. I can't dance to save my life and you know it."  
_

_"Alright, maybe I was lying." He replied, trying to hide the smirk on his face. "Here, let me help you. Stand on my toes."  
_

_My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to figure out if he was being serious or not.  
_

_He rolled his eyes at me and picked me up and set my feet on his. I blushed beet red at the closeness of our bodies. He took a few steps, forwards, backwards, to the sides, and I tried to memorize the pattern. Suddenly, he stopped. I looked up into his eyes and realized just how close together we were.  
_

_Our gazes locked and we were in an unbreakable trance. The corners of his lips twitched upwards the slightest bit as he leaned in a few inches. My heart hammered inside my chest as I anticipated what was going to happen next. Our noses brushed, my eyes fluttered closed, waves of heat and desire running through my veins. His hot breath on my lips became too much and I closed the gap between us. Our lips met, sweetly and lovingly, only lasting a few seconds.  
_

_We both pulled away and I bit my lip, trying to the smile growing on my lips. "That was nice." I said, somehow sounding calm.  
_

_The boy laughed. "It was. Now before anything else happens, tell me your name?"  
_

_"Kim." I replied. "Now, what is your name?"  
_

_He grinned and leaned down close to my ear, whispering once single word. "Jack."  
_

Kim gawked at the paper for a minute before blushing. She turned the pencil in her hand over and erased the last word for a minute, until there was no trace of it ever being there. She replaced the name with the first thing that came to her head, 'Chance'.

She finished up her short story, adding sentences and tweaking it until she was satisfied with the outcome. She tucked all her things back into her bag. Kim bit her lip, trying to do decide what to do next. Kim wasn't in the mood to go home and see her parents, or breathe in the scent of the poison that had ruined her life. She finally decided to just go to the park.

* * *

Kim slowly opened the door to her house. The smell hit her hard, sending her back a few feet into the fresh air. She held her breath and walked into the house, heading quickly to the stairs.

"Damn you, Michael!" A voice shouted from the kitchen.

Kim turned, curious and frightened at the same time. She hesitantly made her way to the kitchen and stepped through the doorway. The sight before her was one she never wanted to behold. Her mother was standing in the middle of the room, glaring hard and cold at her husband who was only a few feet away from her.

"You cheated on me!" She hissed at him, shoving him until he was forced to take a step back.

"Honey, I said I was sorry, I was drunk out of my mind and I didn't know what I was-" His words were cut off when Kim's mom snatched up a bottle from the table and flung it at him hard.

His eyes widened in fear, but he managed to duck just in time. The bottle hit the wall behind him, smashing into pieces and falling to the floor.

Kim's dad looked over at his wife in disbelief, and Kim could see that for once in his life, he was sobered down a bit. Her mom looked like she was ready to murder and began running towards him. Kim finally snapped out of her trance and stepped in.

"Mom, stop!" Kim shouted, taking a few steps forward. She stopped in her tracks as her mother glared hard and cold at her. Kim could see the drunkenness in her angry gaze, sending shivers through her, all the way to the bone.

Kim could only watch in fear as her mom picked up another empty beer bottle. This time she didn't throw it to her husband, she threw it in Kim's direction. Kim's eyes widened and she dropped down to hide behind the counter. The flying object hit the counter and shattered into a million pieces. The small shards of glass rained over Kim's crouched form as she lifted her arms above her head in an attempt to protect herself. She winced and held back a cry as the shards lodged themselves into the delicate skin of her arms.

Kim's breathing was heavy, her mind running a billion miles an hour. Adrenaline and utter terror pumping through her veins. She turned herself over and began crawling as fast as she could out of the room, ignoring the stinging pain of the shards as they embedded themselves in the palms of her hands.

Quickly and painfully, she made it out of the kitchen and back into the living room. Kim ignored the furious screams behind her and stood up. She shakily made her way up the wooden stairs to her room. She slammed the door shut behind her, locking it with a click.

Kim ran over to her bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit she always kept under her sink. She used the tweezers to carefully remove the glass bits from her arms and hands and stuck them into a plastic cup. It took half an hour, but when she was done, the pain had subsided outstandingly.

She gazed down at her scarred arms, the freshly made short pink lines stood out remarkably against the normal pale tone of her skin. Kim moved her eyes up, settling on her clear reflection in the mirror.

The girl that stood before her looked so broken, so scared, so weak. Her hair was almost completely out of it's ponytail by now, many strands sticking up or plastered to her face with sweat. The brown eyes that looked back at her through the thick black glasses perched on her face held only pain and emptiness.

Kim averted her eyes away suddenly. She didn't want to look at herself anymore. She took the cup she had disposed the glass into and dumped it in the garbage can. Right now she could care less whether it cut through the bag or not. She was too tired.

Kim shut the bathroom door and walked over to her bed. She kicked her shoes off her feet before she fell onto the soft pillows. She inhaled the clean scent and got under the covers, not bothering to change out of her clothes. Too much had happened today and she was absolutely worn out.

* * *

Kim walked tiredly through the front doors of the school. It was early, about 6:30, but this was a regular thing to her. She always came before anyone else got to school, so she could have some time to compose herself before the pain started again.

She stumbled over to her locker and twisted the lock mindlessly to various numbers until it opened with a small click. She stuffed her bag and extra books in.

"Hey." Kim jumped at the voice behind her. She spun around and came face to face with the boy that she couldn't seem to get off her mind, Jack. He looked worriedly down at her. "Did I scare you? I'm sorry."

Kim was frozen in shock. She hadn't expected anyone to be at school this early. She tugged the long sleeves of her shirt down to her thumbs, effectively hiding last night's scars from his view.

"I didn't expect you to talk to me." She replied quietly.

Jack's dark eyebrows furrowed, scrunching the skin of his forehead and leaving a vertical crease right in the center. "Why?"

Kim's eyes met with the tiled floor. "Don't you know now? How I'm the 'Drunk Baby'?"

"Yes, I know about that." He replied evenly. "But wait, do people seriously call you that?"

She nodded. "That's basically been my name for five years now. I've kind of gotten used to it." She shrugged her shoulders lightly.

"You just let them talk to you like that?" Jack asked, eyes wide and unbelieving.

Kim sighed and met his brown eyes again. "I know it doesn't make much sense to you, but think of it this way. It's me against the whole school. Fighting them is just asking to be hurt."

"But they're already hurting you," He exclaimed loudly. "And frankly, I don't see how it could get much worse."

Kim sent him a sad smile. "Oh, it can get worse."

Jack's disbelieving look faded into a look of sympathy. "I can't believe you have to go through that every day."

She just shrugged in response. Suddenly, they both heard more voices down the hall and Kim pushed Jack a few feet away from her. "Go. You do not want them to see you with me." Jack crossed his arms over his chest and stood glued in place. "Jack, seriously, get out of here!" She whisper-yelled at him.

He sighed, dropping his arms back down to his sides. "I'll see you in class, okay?"

Kim nodded. She sighed in relief as he disappeared down the hallway. She turned back to her locker and hid her face in it, pretending to be doing something with her Socials textbook. Once the people had passed, she looked around to make sure the coast was clear.

She grabbed the things she would need for her first class, English, and shut her locker door. Kim headed back out of the school and dropped herself behind the bleachers on the field, where no one could see her.

* * *

It was now the last class of the day, Math. It was bittersweet in Kim's mind. It was the only class she had with Jack, so she was happy to be able to see him without other students getting suspicious about them being friends. But, having a class with Jack was another chance he had to find out about the scars. Kim really did not want to explain what had happened last night, but if she didn't answer at all, he would most likely assume she was cutting herself. All she had to do was keep this under wraps for a few weeks until the scars became less visible on her skin. She knew it took a long time for them to disappear completely.

Kim walked into the Math classroom, early this time, so no one could trip her as she made her way to the back of the room. She took her seat and watched as other kids made their way into the room. Finally, Jack came in and sat down in the stool next to her. He glanced over at her and gave her a small smile. She returned it almost immediately.

"Alright class," Everyone turned their attention to Mr. Turner at the front of the classroom. "Now, today I'm going to give you a project to do with a partner-" Everybody began whispering to their friends, asking them if they wanted to be partners. They all nodded in return. "-and I will be picking them." He finished. Everyone groaned and slouched in their seats. "You will be working with the person at your table."

"NO!" A girl near the front shouted, standing up from her chair. "I am NOT working with him!" She pointed to the boy beside her. He was one of the class nerds, and it was obvious he liked her. He waggled his eyebrows at her. The girl's face twisted in disgust and she whimpered, turning back to the teacher. "Please! I'm begging you!" She said pleadingly.

Mr. Turner shook his head. "Sorry Ms. Smith, but I am not letting anyone switch."

Almost everyone in the class groaned, but Mr. Turner ignored it. He went around with a box, asking one of the two partners at each table to pull out a slip of paper. "What is written on the paper is what you will be doing your project on." He explained.

As everyone waited their turn, they began bickering amongst themselves. Kim let out a sigh of relief. She was happy she was partnered with Jack. If it were someone else, they would make her do all the work and bully her while she did it. With Jack and his lack of intelligence, she would still probably be doing most of the work, but at least she knew that he wouldn't be mean to her.

Kim had no idea how Jack might be feeling about it, so she peeked over at him. He met her eyes and smiled back at her. She smiled back just as Mr. Turner came over to their table. Jack stuck his hand in and pulled out a slip of paper. He unfolded it and read out the words. "Most popular animals at the zoo." He said.

The teacher smiled at the two before heading to other tables. "That seems like a pretty easy project." Kim remarked.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, even I can do this, and you know how simpleminded I am when it comes to Math." He replied with a small laugh.

Kim laughed along with him, but they both stopped abruptly when some of the class turned their way with apprehensive looks.

"Kim?" She turned to look at Jack once again. He had a worried expression on his face. "What's that on your arm?"

* * *

**Oohh! Cliffy! Alright, now, I'm sorry for not updating when I said I would. I've just been having issues lately, and when it gets really bad, I find it really hard to write. I finally managed to get this done, and honestly, I'm really happy with it. I hope you all feel the same way! Review!****  
**


	3. Rumour Has It

**Hey! Alright, so here's the next chapter! I hope you guys like it! I've been getting through my personal issues, but it's hard :/ Anxiety sucks! I've been having anxiety problems for like 9 months now, and I wish it would just go away! AHHHHH!**

**Sorry for my little rant there. Anyways, enjoy :)  
**

* * *

"What's that on your arm?"

Kim froze, shutting her eyes for a moment and praying he wasn't talking about what she thought he was talking about. Reluctantly, she peeked down at her arm and saw what she dreaded most. Her shirt sleeve had ridden up the slightest bit, giving Jack a great view of some of her scars. She moved her gaze up from her arm, and settled them on Jack.

Jack didn't know what he should be feeling. Surprise? Worry? Anger? Sympathy? He settled for confusion and disbelief. There had to be a reasonable explanation as to why there were scars on her arm, and why they looked freshly made. There just had to be. "W-What?" He managed to stutter out, meeting her fearful eyes.

Kim bit her lip hard, to the point that it was almost bleeding, and sighed. She hesitantly opened her mouth to say something to him, though she had no idea what it was, but she was cut off by the teacher piping up.

"Alright, so for all of your projects you will be conducting a poll." Mr. Turner said as he organized papers on his desk. "Once you have all the data you need, you need to display your findings in all the ways you can. Fractions, percentages, graphs, pie charts." He told the class. "I will give you all until next Monday to complete your project." He picked up the pile of papers he made and began strolling around the classroom, placing a paper in front of each student. "This is just a worksheet to get you started. Everyone will complete it, both partners, and hand it in to me when class finishes. And please, no talking."

Kim started her worksheet, her eyes glued to the paper. Everyone was silent, and Jack almost exploded. He need to ask Kim what was going on. He wrote random answers on the page in front of him, not caring that they were probably all wrong. He couldn't concentrate to save his life.

Jack turned his head to the left and glanced at Kim, who was scribbling away mindlessly on the worksheet. She paused for a second as she felt his burning gaze on her, turning away more and continuing on her paper.

It seemed like a millennium passed by before the bell finally rang. Kim jumped up from her seat and walked as briskly as she could out of the classroom. Jack followed closely behind her, never letting her out of his sight. He pushed through the people in front of him and chased after her, finally catching up.

Jack grabbed her wrist firmly and dragged her out the front doors. He brought them both behind a small patch of trees where no one could see them.

He took her arm, gently now, and rolled up the sleeve up to her elbow. Short pink scars cloaked her pale skin, and Jack's eyes widened a fraction more. He checked the left arm and found it almost identical to right. He lifted his eyes to hold her in an unbreakable gaze, waiting for an explanation.

"Look Jack, it's not what you think." Kim started cautiously.

"It better not be, because to me it looks like you've been cutting yourself." He replied sharply.

Kim flinched at his tone and looked away from him. "I haven't been cutting myself." She said, her voice almost a whisper.

"Then what happened?" He asked.

Kim sighed. "Jack, can I please just go back to class? I'm going to be late." She turned away and took a few steps forward, but was stopped when a warm hand was placed on her shoulder. It was gentle, yet firm enough to hold her in place.

"Kim, did something happen with your parents?" Jack's soft voice almost made her crack, but she managed to hold her ground.

"It doesn't matter." She mumbled.

"Of course it matters!"

She spun back around to face him. "Why do you even care Jack? I'm a loser!"

"I can't just stand around and watch people hurt you!"

"I've known you for one day!"

Jack's eyes dropped, silence forming between the two. Kim calmed down her heavy breathing as she watched him turn his head away just the slightest bit. "I'm sorry. You're right, it's only been one day. I guess I just-" He cut himself off abruptly, his eyebrows furrowed. He shook his head as he crushed his bottom lip between his teeth. "Never mind." He mumbled.

Kim stood in place, shocked at his sudden change of heart. She felt a pang of guilt stab at her. "I promise that if something bad enough happens, I'll tell you. This was just an...accident." She lied.

Jack cocked an eyebrow at her. "You know you're a terrible liar, right?"

She sighed. "Fine, it wasn't an accident, but I'm serious about the first part. If it gets to be too much, them I'll tell you."

His frown slowly turned up to a small smile. "Okay, you promise?"

She smiled back at him. "I promise." She replied truthfully.

"Good." He replied. "Now, let's get to class."

* * *

The day progressed slowly, and Jack's classes seemed to take days to go by. It was still lunch hour, and Jack was sitting with Jerry, Milton and Eddie on the stairwell.

Jack was caught in thought until someone clapped their hands loudly in front of his face. "Dude, why are you so out of it today?" Jerry asked him.

Jack shook his head to clear away the thoughts in his head. "Huh? Oh, sorry. Um...I guess I just have a lot on my mind right now."

Milton sighed. "Does this have anything to do with Kim?"

Jack shot him a look. "Why would you think that?"

"Because, I know you guys are Math partners, and I see the way you look at her." He explained.

Jerry chuckled from beside him. "Even I can you see it, and I'm not exactly the smartest person at this school."

"I don't know what you guys are talking about." Jack replied. "I've only known her for like, one day."

Milton smirked at him. "Then tell me Jack, is Kim what's on your mind?"

Jack dropped his head. "Yes...but that doesn't mean I like her or anything. I'm just concerned."

"Oh man." Jerry said, shaking his head. "He's got it bad. This is not good!"

Milton and Eddie nodded. "Jack you can't like her, I mean, she's nice and all, but if people find out..." The three shuttered.

Jack rolled his eyes at them. "I'm serious! I don't like her that way. We're friends...at least, I think we are...but nothing more than that!" He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than the others. They all raised an eyebrow. "Can we just talk about something else please!"

"Fine." Jerry replied. "Let's talk about the hottest girl in school: Kelsey."

Eddie scoffed. "Oh please, Kelsey is NOT the hottest girl. Donna is."

Jerry turned to him. "Um...I'm pretty sure Kelsey is, she is the captain of the cheerleading squad."

"Oh no, Donna is! She's captain of all the other sports teams, and she has Scott Wilson and the rest of the football team chasing after her. Kelsey doesn't."

They started arguing, getting louder and louder and eventually lead to them wrestling each other to the ground. Milton was trying to break them up.

Jack would have helped, but his mind was still on what he had seen this morning. The guys had been right. Kim was all he could think about, Kim and her...scars. She said it was nothing to worry about, but he couldn't help but wonder exactly what had happened to her. But he respected her space, and he had seen the truth in her eyes when she said she'd tell him if anything really bad happens. At least that gave him some peace at mind, even if it were only a sliver of it.

Jack looked up again as Jerry and Eddie rolled around on the ground in front of him, Milton quickly hurrying after.

* * *

Jack sighed in relief as his mom's car finally pulled up in front of the school. It had started pouring buckets during last period, and the rain still pounded down hard while dark clouds hovered above the city, threatening them with thunder, and scaring them with abrupt flashes of lightning.

Jack ran out from under the protection of the awning attached to the school, and bolted the thirty feet to the car. He hopped in the passenger seat and shook out his already soaking hair.

His mom ducked down and looked at the sky through the front window. "Looks like we're gonna have a big storm tonight." She said. Then she turned to look at her son. "So, how was your day?"

Jack shrugged. "It's alright I guess." He replied.

His mom nodded and began driving down the road in a comfortable silence. Jack turned his head to looked out the window. He swiped his hand across the cold glass to remove the film of fog that had formed. As they were heading down the street, Jack saw Kim running down the sidewalk, holding her sweater above her head in an attempt to keep herself dry, but it wasn't working very well.

"Hey mom, can you pull over?" Jack asked, not moving his eyes to look at her.

His mom cocked an eyebrow at him and followed his gaze. When she saw the girl, she smirked and pulled over right beside her.

Kim turned her head to see who had pulled over and saw Jack peeking his head out the window of a car. "You want a ride?" He asked her.

Kim's eyes widened slightly. Never before had anyone asked her if she wanted a ride home. She didn't quite know how to respond. "Um...that would be great." She replied with a small smile. If it were anyone else, she would have said no in an instant, but she felt she could trust Jack.

She pulled open the back door and hopped in, marveling in the heat of the car. She blushed slightly as she dripped water all over the back seat. "Oh don't worry about it hon." Jack's mom said to her with a smile. "So, where do I drop you off?"

"Um...Hayview Drive." Kim said.

Jack snapped his head towards her when she answered. "Wait, Hayview Drive? We live on that street."

"Really?" Kim said excitedly. She blushed and put on a calm face. "I mean, that's cool."

Jack turned back to face the front, chuckling quietly to himself. He looked up at her in the review mirror.

Kim peeled off her soaked cardigan and tossed it to the side. Underneath she wore a frilly blue and pink patterned tank top. She removed her glasses and set them on the seat beside her. She pulled at the elastic in her hair, letting the golden strands fall down to frame her face.

Jack stared at her in complete and utter awe. Her bare shoulders and arms looked so smooth and untouched, the only flaw being from the elbow down she had fresh scars. Her face, without the black framed glasses, showed off her sparkling brown eyes that Jack seemed to get lost in. She shook out her hair and Jack gulped silently, pulling his gaze away with great force.

By this time, they had arrived at the right street and Kim told Jack's mom where to stop. It turned out that her house was only a few down from his. Kim smiled at his mom as she slipped on a dry cardigan she had taken out from her backpack. "Thank you."

His mom smiled back at her. "Oh, it was no problem dear. Have a nice night."

Kim's smile faltered and it didn't go unnoticed to Jack. "Wait Kim," He said before she could leave the vehicle. Jack turned to his mom. "Can she come for dinner?"

"That sounds like a great idea." She replied.

"Oh," Kim stuttered. "I don't have to-I mean, I don't want to intrude or anything-"

Jack's mom laughed. "It's fine sweetie, I was just going to order pizza anyways."

Kim slowly smiled. "Alright."

* * *

"Bye Jack." Kim said, turning on her heel and running as fast as she could back to her house. She stopped once she was on the patio, safe from the pelting rain. She looked up at the moon through the hole in the dark sky and smiled.

She liked hanging out with Jack and his mom. They had laughed and joked and had a great time. Kim couldn't help but feel a little jealous of Jack though. He had a caring, loving mother, and the two got along so well, contrary to Kim and her parents.

"Where were you?" A voice snapped harshly from behind her.

Kim spun around and saw her father in the doorway, glaring at her in a way that made her cringe. "I-I was with a friend-"

"A friend?" Her father laughed meanly before sending her a hard look. "Get in the house."

"Okay." She replied, heading past her dad and into the house. She knew better than to try and fight against him.

She was stopped when he snatched her wrist and turned her towards him. "Listen up, slut. You live in my house, so you will obey my rules." He was so close to her that she could smell the bitterness of alcohol in his breath on her face. "I never said that you were allowed to be with your friends."

"You never said I couldn't." Kim muttered. She was surprised by her own bravery.

Her dad reached up a hand to clutch the collar of her tank top in his hand. He started shaking with anger and pushed her, sending her to the floor.

Kim quickly picked herself up and ran up the stairs, not bothering to look behind her to see if he was coming after her. She locked herself in her room and leaned her head against the door. She took a deep breath before changing into her sweats and t-shirt and falling onto her bed.

All that night, Kim tried to sleep, but it never found her. She tossed and turned in bed, trying to find a comfy position, but suddenly, her bed wasn't as comfortable as it used to be.

* * *

**Alright, I'm finally finished the chapter. Now I know it wasn't the best and the ending was rushed but I promise the next one will be better and maybe have some Jack action in it...hint hint, nudge nudge.**

**Haha, okay so here's the deal. I'm super busy this week because I'm going on a small vacation for the long weekend and I won't be back until late Monday night. But, my mom is bringing her laptop so I might be able to write while I'm gone. I don't know. I'll say that I'll have something done by next Tuesday and post it then.  
**

**Until then, have a great summer!  
**

**P.S. Also, if you have an idea of what should happen next, I'm totally open for ideas! Just PM me or if you don't have an account, tell me what you think in a review! The more ideas I have, the better the chapters will be because I'm slowly running out of things!  
**


	4. For The Nights I Can't Remember

**Hey guys! Sorry I didn't update Tuesday, but I was super busy and blah blah blah. I know, you are all probably sick of my stupid excuses by now. I don't know, some days, my writing is great and I have so many ideas, so I write them down, and then the next day, I'm super depressed and stressed and nothing I write is any good. Until my personal issues are dealt with, my updates will be extremely sporadic!**

**Honestly, writing here on Fanfiction is helping me through my problems, so that's why I continue to do it. I guess it's my little escape from reality and some 'me' time.  
**

**Anyways, this one goes out to _Live Dance and Hope_! Thank you so so so so much for the awesome idea. It definitely helped me write this chapter :D  
**

**Well...enjoy :)  
**

* * *

It had been a week since Jack and Kim first ran into each other in the hallway. As they worked on the math project, they got closer and their friendship grew.

Jerry, Milton and Eddie all knew about their friendship, and helped them keep it a secret from everyone at school, though Jack absolutely hated it. He hated watching Kim get bullied in the hallways, and the guys held him down and wouldn't let him help. Kim agreed with them and that frustrated him even further, but she didn't want anyone hurting him too.

Nothing had happened with her parents for a while, thankfully. If it had, Jack probably would have gone berserk and exploded or something along those lines. But she had hardly seen them at all. Both her mother and her father were gone, probably off to a bar getting drunk out of their minds. Like always.

Honestly, Kim didn't mind that one bit. She had peace and quiet at home, and yet, she couldn't sleep. It went on for days and sleep refused to let her into it's inviting realm. Jack was worried about that too, but Kim kept telling him that she was fine, and it wasn't a lie. She could live with little sleep.

Jack seemed to believe her, even if reluctantly so. If it wasn't obvious enough, he was worried out of his damn mind over Kim, and he didn't know what to do about it. Every little thing that happened to her seemed to irk him even further into his mixed thoughts and emotions. He couldn't help but think about what he'd do if it all became too overwhelming for him to handle. Who knows what could happen?

* * *

One night, Kim just absolutely could not sleep. She couldn't get comfortable in her bed, She'd tried everything, but nothing seemed to work. Her eyes just refused to stay closed.

She thought that, perhaps, it was the eerie silence that had filled the air of the house for a week now. Kim wasn't used to being alone so much, there was always the odd day, but never anything like this.

_Snap!_ Kim gasped and shot up in bed, her eyes searching the room for the source of the frightening sound. She set her gaze on the heater in the corner of the room, that had kicked to life in the cold, bitter air.

Kim sighed and fell back against her pillows. She glanced over at her clock. 3:36 in the morning. She groaned out loudly and tried to figure out what to do with herself. She remembered that when she was younger and her grandmother was still alive, she would always make her warm milk to help her sleep.

Kim sat up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. Her feet met with the cool wood floor as she stood up. She waited for her dizzy vision to clear before finally moving to the door.

Kim opened it and looked out to make sure the coast was clear. Just as she had suspected, there was no one there. She stepped out and tip toed down the stairs and into the kitchen.

She walked through the doorway and froze. There, seated at the table was her dad. Kim nervously eyed the various bottles of alcohol scattered around the surface in front of him. He had his head down, leaned against the table, in his arms. He and he hadn't seen her yet; she still had time to escape unnoticed.

But she was too afraid to move.

Suddenly, her dad moaned and lifted his head. Kim's heart began racing when his eyes met hers, cloaked with drunkenness. "Kim..." He slurred, standing up from his seat.

"D-Dad." She stuttered nervously, taking a step back.

"Your mother is still mad at me..." He mumbled. "I miss her..."

He started to make his way, stumbling, over to her. She knew something bad was about to happen and Kim wanted so badly to run, but her body refused to listen to her.

He walked up close to her and pushed her roughly back, forcing her to stumble backwards, all the way until her back hit the hard cement wall. She cursed silently under her breath at herself/ She could only watch as he came up closer, and pressed himself up against her.

Kim instantly tensed up, scared that the rumors spread around the school about her, were about to come true. Suddenly, she feared her virginity.

Kim couldn't believe this was happening. Shivers forcefully slithered down her spine in the most uncomfortable manner. She was too terrified to fight back as her father leaned down and pressed his cracked, dry lips on her neck. He started moving them and Kim realized that the repeated nightmare that kept her up at night, was now coming true. She whimpered in distress as her body shook, tears streaming down her pale face. His hands slid under the bottom of her shirt and Kim shut her eyes tight as he felt around her torso. She hoped that by shutting her eyes, she could maybe wake up and find that this was just another terrifying nightmare.

But it wasn't. It was real, this was reality.

Her father moved his hands back down her torso and stopped at the top of her pants. Kim realized what he was going to do and her heart dropped roughly to her stomach. She shook her head frantically at him, finally finding her voice again. "Dad, please...don't." She begged as she started to sob. "Dad, please!" She cried out.

He only grunted and slapped her shoulder violently to shut her up. Kim continued to struggle relentlessly in his grip. Even though he was terribly drunk, he was still three times stronger than her. He growled against her neck, the vibrations of the sound causing Kim's body to shake even more. Her dad moved a hand to her upper arm, clutching it tightly in a death grip and giving it a hard squeeze. Kim let out a fierce, unwilling cry at the pain that coursed through her veins. She kept moving around desperately in his arms, and he finally had enough. He pulled away from her neck to look her hard in the eyes. Kim gasped at the burning fury that laid in his.

Her dad lifted a hand and struck her across the face, the force so much that it sent her straight to the ground. Her breath was forced out of her. She inhaled and exhaled, trying to get her breathing under control. She held her cheek gently in her left hand and looked up at the angry man that stood in front of her. She tried to stand up, but he kicked her in the shin, making her fall against the cold, hardwood floor.

Kim lay there, on the kitchen floor, unable to move any part of her body as her dad abused her. With every kick and punch, she let out a blood curdling scream that rang harshly against the walls of her house. After many minutes of pure agony, Kim started to grow greatly weaker. The look on her face was no longer pain, only hurt and sadness. She let tears flow freely down her cheeks and drop the the wood beneath her with a silent splash.

It was at that moment that Kim really started thinking about her life. When this ended, if it ever ended, would there even be a point in living anymore? She knew she couldn't stay and become a puppet to her dad, or her mother, wherever she was. Was there really a point in living if she had no where to go? No where to run? No place where she could ever fit in?

Sure, Kim had thought about the possibility of killing herself to get out of the hell hole she lived in, but she had made a promise to herself never to do it. She may let people bully her, and let her dad abuse her, but she had always been strong enough to live. Now though, she was questioning whether she had made the right decision.

Perhaps she should have killed herself, and saved herself from all this pain.

When she was surely covered from her from head to toe with bruises and cuts, her dad gave her one last, agonizing kick to the stomach. Kim could basically hear her ribs crack nastily. He pulled her up roughly by the collar of her t-shirt and brought his face close to hers. "Next time, you will let me do what I want." He hissed. He dropped her to the ground without another word and disappeared from the room.

Kim stayed there, just laying on the floor, for hours. She couldn't move without feeling complete and utter pain. She didn't even have the energy to cry anymore.

After what seemed like forever, she finally managed, slowly and oh so painfully, to get up and make her way to the living room. She opened the closet and pulled out the suitcase she had packed for if something like this ever happened. She'd never thought it truly would happen, but here she was, in that exact situation.

She stumbled out the door, ignoring the black spots starting to swarm her vision. Kim knew that she needed to get as far away from this place as possible.

As she tripped her way down the dark, abandoned streets, she couldn't help but feel her eyes drooping. Every little step she took sent excruciating shivers of pain up her legs and through her whole body, and she grew weaker and weaker.

Kim didn't even know where she was going anymore, but she soon found her legs shaking and giving out beneath her, causing her to crumble to the ground. She gazed around the dark city, where all she could see were the objects revealed in the dim, musky light of the street lamps.

She looked up to the sky above her. "God, why do you hate me?" She choked out. "Is it because I don't go to church on Sundays? Or have I done something wrong?" She asked. "I'm sorry."

Kim turned her head to look back at the streets. She watched as a figure stepped into the light. It was a woman, and she paused, squinting over at Kim's limp body under the brush of the tree. Kim suddenly started coughing and she turned to the side as something came up in her throat. She looked down at the cement and saw blood splattered across the grey. The lady gasped and ran over to her. She dropped down beside her, onto her knees. "Oh my, sweetie, do you need an ambulance?"

Kim managed a nod and whimpered slightly at the pain it caused her. Coughs shook her body again, and she spit up more dark red blood. The woman whipped out her phone and began speaking to someone in an urgent voice.

The lady shut the phone again after a minute and leaned down so she could look her in the eyes. "Don't worry honey, everything's going to be okay." She said, rubbing her hand up and down Kim's arm soothingly.

Kim could only nod once as she tried to keep her eyes open. The rest was a blur.

New faces appeared in her vision after a few minutes, paramedics, she figured out, but their voices slowly faded away and she could only hear the burning ringing in her ears. Pain was all she could feel now, stinging her veins in every part of her body.

She was lifted onto a stretcher, wheeled into the ambulance and driven to the hospital. She watched as bright lights blurred through her vision and then they disappeared altogether. Another face appeared and looked down at her. They had a mask over their mouth and nose so she assumed it was a nurse or a doctor.

Pain was all she was feeling at this point, overriding all her senses. It wasn't long before she couldn't see anything anymore. Kim gave in the the inviting blackness and let it take her over.

* * *

Beep...beep...beep...

Kim slipped her eyes open and looked around the room, confused. Was she in a...hospital?

She groaned and grabbed her pounding head in an attempt to conceal her headache. The door to the room slipped open and in stepped a man in a lab coat. "Hi Kim, I'm Dr. Smith." He said as he made his way over to the bed. He took a seat in the chair next to her and gazed over at her with sympathetic eyes. "Do you remember what happened?"

Kim thought for a moment before she froze. Images flashed through her mind. Petrifying images. Ones that made her blood curdle. It seemed almost like a nightmare, but the pain seemed so real...

Kim gasped and tried to sit up. The doctor quickly got to her and gently pushed her shoulders back down onto the bed. "You can't get up yet, sweetheart." He told her. "Now, do you want to tell me what happened? Because it would seem that you remember."

"U-Um...I...I-I..." Kim tried to speak but her was shaking too much for her to get the words out.

Dr. Smith gave her a light pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, you don't need to tell me right now." He stood up. "Is there anyone you want me to call?" He asked her.

Kim thought for a moment. She knew she should tell Jack about this, but at the same time, she didn't want him to find out about this. She had no doubt that he would freak out at her.

Kim sighed and opened her mouth to answer.

* * *

**Ooh, a little cliffy there ;) Sorry for that, but it seemed to fit. Anyways, I know this wasn't my best chapter, but I think it turned out pretty good so...yeah :) REVIEW!  
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**Also, ideas are still welcome, so anything more would be great. They just seem to make this story more interesting :)  
**


	5. The One That Got Away

**Thanks for the awesome reviews! And the author alerts and favorites! That really means a lot :) You guys are the best reviewers in the world! I'm so not kidding :D**

**Well...enjoy :)  
**

* * *

Kim opened her mouth to answer. "N-No." She replied. "At least not yet. I need some time to myself before I want anyone here."

The doctor's lips curved up at the edges into a sad smile as he gave her a curt nod. "Of course, just let me or any of the other nurses know when you're ready." He replied, getting up from his seat. "Now, I know you just woke up, but just take it easy for a while alright?"

Kim nodded and laid back down carefully against the pillows. A loud grumbling erupted from her stomach. Dr. Smith chuckled. "I'll send a nurse to get you some food. You have been out for three days."

Kim snapped her head towards him once again. "Wait, t-three days?" She asked, unbelieving.

He glanced down at the clipboard clutched in his long, slim fingers. "Yes, you did lose a lot of blood." He replied.

Dr. Smith left the room and Kim fell back against the soft pillows with a thump. _Three days._ She thought. _Oh god._ She had no idea how Jack would have reacted to her being gone for three days already. Kim made a silent vow to herself that she would call him in the morning and tell him what had happened. All of it.

Kim shivered coldly as the memory passed through her mind once again.

* * *

To say that Jack was worried would be a complete and utter understatement. His veins pumped pure anxiousness and he was to the point of almost exploding into oblivion.

Kim had been nowhere to be found for three days. Three days!

Now here he was, in the middle of math class, trying to work more on his and Kim's project. The thing was, he seriously couldn't concentrate to save his life at the moment. So he just sat there on his cold, plastic stool, eying the vacant seat beside him nervously.

Where could she be? If she was hurt, she would tell him, right? Of course she would, she promised. Did that mean that she was so hurt that she couldn't tell him-

"Jack?" Mr. Turner snapped from the front of the class.

"huh...sorry, what?" He replied dumbly. The class snickered at his response.

The teacher glared at him, hard. "Jack, I understand that you're still pretty new here, but that is no excuse for your lack of attention lately." He said.

Jack bit his lip. He knew that if he got in trouble, his mom would kill him. He sighed. "Yes sir, I'm not trying to be disrespectful or anything. I just have a lot on my mind." He replied. "I'm sorry."

The teacher gave him one last hard look before turning back to the rest of the class and continuing on with the lesson or whatever they were doing. Jack didn't know, he was back to not paying attention. All he could possibly think about was Kim. He couldn't help it, he needed to know where she was, or at least that she was safe.

She was safe, she had to be...Right?

* * *

It was the middle of socials class when Jack's phone went crazy in his pocket. He silently thanked god that he had set his phone a vibrate this morning, instead of its usual blasting music.

He made an excuse of having to go the bathroom and headed quickly out of the classroom. Once he was out in the hall, he pulled out his phone and saw it was an unknown number. Normally, he wouldn't answer if he didn't know who it was, but it could be Kim. He pressed the answer button and pressed the device to his ear.

"Hello?" He asked.

"Hi, is this Jack Anderson?" A female voice asked.

Jack's eyebrows knitted together. "Yes...why?"

"Your friend, Kimberly Crawford-"

"Kim! Where is she?" Jack shouted into the phone, interrupting her.

The lady sighed. "Well,_ sir_, if you would let me finish, she asked me to call you. She is here at Seaford Hospital." She replied, irritated.

"Thank you so much." Jack said, relief flooding through his veins.

"Anytime." The lady replied, sarcasm ringing in her voice. He must have really ticked her off.

"I'll be right over to see her." With that, Jack shut his phone.

Jack sighed out in relief, sliding his back down the cold metal of the lockers. He sat on the floor and took a few deep breaths. Kim was alive.

Jack got up after a few minutes and started making his way through the abandoned hallways. He didn't bother going to the school office to sign out, and at that point he couldn't care less about the fact that his mom would kill him for ditching school. He needed to see Kim.

* * *

Kim was laying in her hospital bed, flipping through the TV channels and sipping at some water. She set the glass down on the wooden table placed beside the bed, and sighed. She lifted a hand to her head; the headache still hadn't gone away from when she had woken up and it was really starting to irk her.

That was when the door to the room burst open loudly and a certain brunet came running in, worry and fear evident in his chocolate brown eyes. It was Jack. His slightly wavy brown hair flipped around his face as he turned his head to meet her eyes. They widened to the size of plates. "Kim!" He shouted, his voice dripping worry and relief at the same time. Jack ran over to her and stopped right by her side. He held himself back, not wanting to hurt her any more than she was already hurt.

He finally calmed himself down and hesitantly leaned forward to capture her in a gentle, yet firm hug. She hugged him back to the best of her ability, without hurting herself further.

"Kim, I was so worried about you." Jack whispered into her ear as he breathed in the becomingly familiar scent of hers.

He pulled back and looked her deep in the eyes, like he could see into her soul. It made her shiver, but it was a good shiver. "I was going to tell you sooner, but I needed some time." She replied, looking down as she whispered the last part.

Jack took a seat on the side of the bed and watched as pain flashed hard across her pale face. "W-What happened?" He asked her. It sparked up the memories in her mind again, and tears prickled her eyes. She shut them tight, trying to rid her thoughts of the horrible images. "Was it your parents?" Jack whispered softly. He lifted a hand to touch her shoulder soothingly.

Kim turned to him and met his eyes, nodding. "Well, i-it was my dad." She choked out. "It was a few nights ago, and I couldn't sleep, so I went downstairs to get some milk, but my dad was in the kitchen...and he was _really_ drunk. He started-he started..." She was cut off as sobs shook her small form.

Jack slipped into the bed with her, under the covers, and pulled her into his arms, holding her carefully. She shook fiercely in the encirclement of his muscular arms, and she buried her head in his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. For the first time since she had woken up, she let herself cry. She let herself cry because she felt safe. She felt calmer, she felt that nothing could ever hurt her again. And it was all because Jack was holding her, firmly and lovingly.

Maybe all she had needed was a little bit of love, a little bit of care from someone. The last time she'd had some of that was so long ago that she couldn't even remember.

Kim was suddenly thankful to whatever God brought Jack to her. If Jack wasn't here, she didn't know what would have happened with her. After what happened with her dad, she probably would have gone to drastic measures, cutting herself or perhaps she would have even killed herself.

She pulled back from Jack and lifted her hands to wipe the wetness off of her face. She took a deep breath, knowing she had to tell him what happened. "H-He started to kiss my neck but I fought him." Jack listened intently to her and he rubbed her back soothingly. She told him the whole story. Every single little heart-wrenching detail.

Jack held her tight, but not too tight, as the words slipped out of her mouth rapidly, desperate to finish, and she shook in his comforting embrace. When she had finally completed the story, she laid her head on his chest as she cried into his shirt some more. She started to drift off slowly, comfortably. Jack let her sleep, sensing that she probably hadn't had a proper one in a while. Once she was completely out, he looked down at her and watched her pale, bruised face as it contorted in pain. He ran his hand lightly up and down her back, calming her. He felt her relax on top of his body, small and warm and oh so fragile.

Suddenly, Jack felt a vibrating in his pocket. He pulled out his phone, careful not to wake Kim up, and saw he had a text from his mom.

_Where are you? -Mom_

Jack sighed and used one hand to type back a quick message.

_Im with Kim the hospital. -Jack_

Not even a minute later he had another response.

_The hospital? Is she ok? -Mom_

_I think so. can she stay with us 4 a while? -Jack_

_Of course she can stay with us. But why? -Mom  
_

Jack sighed and thought for a minute. How was he supposed to explain to his mom what happened? "Kim's dad's a drunk and he beat her up", yeah, that probably wouldn't go over well.

_I wil tel u l8er. -Jack_

_Ok. I will come pick you two up tomorrow :) Wait, are you skipping school to be with her? -Mom  
_

Jack's eyes widened in fear.

_She realy needs me mom. Im sory! -Jack_

_We will continue this conversation later -Mom  
_

Jack shut his phone and set it on the bedside table. He glanced down at the sleeping girl in his arms. Her one hand was clutching tightly to his shirt while the other was splayed out on the opposite side of her, against the sheets of the hospital bed.

Jack couldn't help but smile. She was so cute when she slept. Then he realized something. Kim wasn't wearing her glasses, and her hair was out of its regular ponytail. Instead, her blond locks fell around her shoulders and touched his shirt-covered chest. He lifted a hand and took a strand of her hair between his lean, tan fingers, twirling it around and marveling in its softness.

After a minute, he dropped the lock of hair and shook his head slightly out of his trance. He sighed once again. It was the same thing that had happened in the car the other day, with his mother. Kim had looked so...beautiful. It frightened him. The feelings she made him feel. They weren't right. He just met her a week and a half ago, he shouldn't be falling for her, right?

_Haven't you ever heard of love at first sight?_ Jack's inner voice asked.

Love at first sight. Jack scoffed to himself. That phrase had always seemed...shallow to him. What's the first thing you notice about someone when you meet them? Their looks. So basically you fall for someone because of their looks? No thank you.

Jack couldn't help but remember when he first saw Kim though, when he ran into her in the hallway. Her eyes were so gorgeous, so compelling, and her hair, in its ponytail, had strands that had fallen out from the grip of the elastic when he had knocked her down. They had fallen around her face and framed it perfectly. Jack probably was in trance, now that he thought about it, but it was the fear and worry he had seen in her eyes that had brought him back to reality.

Love at first sight. Now that he thought about it, it seemed almost true in his situation. But it couldn't possibly be true...right?

* * *

**Alright, so I know this chapter isn't as long as my other ones, and probably isn't the best but I hope it's still okay :) It's kind of rushed but whatever. The next chapter may have some anger, specifically Jack's anger... *wink, wink, nudge, nudge* Anyways, review!  
**


	6. As Long As You're There

**Hey y'all, back with the next chapter. Hope you like it! A little heads up, there are a few swears in this chapter. The worst word used is 'bastard', so I hope that's okay. I didn't think it was too bad :)  
**

**Okay, now I woke up on Sunday morning and I was kind of in a crappy mood. I went on my email, like I do every morning, and saw that there was a new review for this story. This was it:  
**

**_Oh...My...GOD! I FREAKIN LOVE THIS STORY! Every time I see that the story has  
been updated, I literally say "YES! It's been updated!" And I start to do my  
happy dance. One time my mom actually came in and said "What the hell are you  
doing?" LOL! Please update! :D I'm SO excited for the next chapter! :D_  
**

**Haha, that review made me laugh and got me out of my depressed state! So, Thank you to _88Madison88_ who left that day changing review! Thank you :D This chapter goes out to you :P  
**

**A few more shout outs to _TheOppositeOfOptimistic,_ You'llRegret, _A day left on earth_ and _Livy.G_.  
**

**Oh yeah! And one more thing! I had a great day yesterday! DYLAN RILEY SNYDER followed me on twitter! He freaking followed me! And he sent me a direct message :P Aaaaannnndd, Olivia Holt tweeted me, aaannnndddd Alex Christian Jones Retweeted me :D My day was great :P  
**

**Anyways, on with the story, so...enjoy :)**

* * *

Kim woke up to the strangest thing. Light shone through the peek in the blinds of the hospital room, hitting her face with splashes of bright light. She was expecting to feel the coldness of the pillow underneath her head, but instead she felt a warm, moving...body...

She lifted her head and looked up to see Jack, eyes closed. His dark eyelashes brushed the top of his sculpted cheekbones. She smiled, until she saw the expression his face was holding. He looked...troubled.

She would have looked harder to try and figure out what was troubling him, but at that moment, Jack groaned and let his eyes flutter open. He instantly caught Kim's gaze and gave her a small, crooked smile. "How are you feeling?" He asked groggily as he wiped away the sleep in his eyes.

Kim sighed. She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Okay I guess." She replied, her eyes meeting her hands.

Jack nodded. "My mom said that you could come stay with us."

Kim's eyes instantly widened and she snapped her head back towards him. "Are you sure that's okay? I mean, I don't want to-"

Jack chuckled, cutting her off. "Kim, it's fine, don't worry about it." Then his smile faded from his face. He looked her hard in the eyes. "I'll be able to sleep better at night knowing your dad isn't around to hurt you."

Kim fell back down against his chest to hide the smile on her face. "Thank you." She whispered. She listened to the pounding of his heart inside his chest. It sped up slightly as she whispered those words to him.

"No problem." He replied with a smile.

Then, the door to the room opened and in stepped Jack's mom Melanie. Jack and Kim both blushed at the position they were in. Jack still had Kim laying on him, in his arms. His mom just smiled at them. "Hey kids. Kim, the doctor said you can leave when you're ready. You just have to take it easy for a few days." She said softly.

Kim nodded. With Jack's help, she stood up and she changed into a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. Melanie took her suitcase that had been brought with her in the ambulance, and dragged it along with them as they all left the hospital. The car ride to the house was quiet, but Kim didn't mind, she didn't really have anything to say anyways.

When they arrived, Kim set up herself up in a guest room, while Jack went downstairs with his mom to help make dinner.

Kim finished unpacking her things into the spare dresser against the far wall. She sighed and took a seat on the edge of the bed. From this room she could look out the clear window and see her house down the street. Kim shivered unconsciously.

"Kim?" She spun around and saw Jack leaning against the door frame. He was peering at her curiously, but she detected a hint of worry in his gaze as well. She squinted slightly to see him. She'd been having trouble seeing without her glasses, which had been lost when she'd run away from home. She didn't remember exactly when she had lost them, but thought it was probably when she had fallen down on the sidewalk.

"Hey Jack." She replied with a tight, forced smile.

He cocked a single, dark eyebrow and walked into the room. He took a seat on the bed next to her and met her eyes. "You know you're the worst liar in the history of the world, right? I can tell that smile is fake. Don't even try to deny it, just tell me what your thinking about?"

Kim shrugged and looked away from him. "I guess I'm just thinking about what happened the other night. I know it's kind of inevitable to avoid, but I just can't seem to get it out of my head."

Jack nodded understandingly and turned to look out the window. He watched the setting sun as it slid behind the horizon and cast a bright orange glow over the city. "Yeah, I totally understand." He said after a minute. "My dad died when I was three, and even though I was young and barely knew him, I always get these...flashing images of him, all the time, doing different things. Sitting in a chair, laying in bed with my mom, smiling at me. I can't help but wonder what he was like."

Kim bit her lip between her teeth as she peeked over at him. His eyes, always filled with a variety of emotions, were currently holding curiosity, as well as sorrow. That was the most overwhelming emotion she saw in him.

Kim suddenly tore her gaze away from him again. She cleared her throat, preparing to speak, but realized that she didn't know what to say. "I'm sure he was a great guy. Just like you." She finally voiced, a slight pink staining her cheeks as she mumbled the last few words.

Jack turned his head to the side, their gazes caught and neither of them could look away. A smile twitched upon his lips. "Thanks." He replied, his voice just barely above a whisper.

She shrugged her shoulders lightly, not trusting herself to speak as she just kept staring into his beautiful, chocolate brown eyes. Those eyes were like deep pools of delicious chocolate, so captivating, so compelling.

Jack looked back at her with something spotting his dark eyes, something she couldn't quite place. Kim noticed Jack moving closer to her, and she found herself leaning in too...

Kim shut her eyes for a moment but she didn't lean in further to kiss him like many would expect. Instead, she turned her head away from him. She stared out the window in front of her once again. "No problem." She said, surprised to find herself breathless. Her heart was hammering hopelessly fast inside her chest, like it wanted to escape from its captivity and burst free. Butterflies tingled her stomach, and her hands shook at her sides. She clutched them into fists with the soft material of the bedsheets between her fingers.

"Kids! Dinner!" Melanie shouted from downstairs, causing the two to jump noticeably at the sudden sound.

"Coming Mom!" Jack yelled back. He looked at Kim, and broke the awkward silence that had formed between the two. "I guess we should go eat." He said slowly.

Kim cleared her throat and looked at him again. "Y-Yeah, you can go ahead, I'll be down in a minute." She replied with a convincing smile.

He nodded and flashed a heart melting smile in her direction before jumping up from the bed and walking out of the room.

Once he was gone, Kim's smile disappeared quickly from her pale face. Had they almost...kissed? Kim sighed out loudly. That was too close. She couldn't let that happen again. The thing was, she _wanted_ it to happen. She wanted him to kiss her right then and there.

She couldn't help but think about what would have happened if they had kissed. He would have been disgusted, no doubt...right? Then, why was Kim the one to pull away first and not him?

Just then, it hit her. When the two had been caught in an seemingly unbreakable gaze, she hadn't known what she had seen in his eyes, but now, she did. It was...love?

Kim sighed and ran her fingers through her tangle-free blond locks, before taking a deep, calming breath and making her way downstairs for dinner.

It was no doubt that Kim's stay at the Anderson household was going to be interesting one.

* * *

It was after dinner now, and Jack had told his mom and Kim that he was going to have a shower before he headed to bed. He locked the bathroom door behind him and stripped off all of his clothes. He hopped in the shower and let the scorching water hit his back and relax his tense muscles.

_You almost kissed Kim._ His inner voice said to him.

Jack sighed. It was true, he had almost kissed her, he had _wanted_ to. She was the one to stop it before it could happen. It must have meant that she didn't have feelings for him, at least, that was the only explanation he could come up with as to why she wouldn't kiss him.

_Oh come on. You know it's because she doesn't want you hurt. Being friends with her is already a risk, but if you start looking at her with googly eyes at school, your cover will most definitely be blown. She couldn't let that happen to you. You're her only friend and she doesn't want to lose you._ His conscience said.

Jack groaned out loudly and rubbed his temples with two fingers. He took a few deep breaths, letting the steam wafting from around him clear his sinuses and empty his mind of all thoughts.

For a while, he just stood there, calming his senses and his body, before he realized the water had turned from hot to cold.

Jack stepped out of the shower, instantly being met with the misty, cold air of the bathroom. He dried himself off quickly before wrapping a towel around his waist and opened the door into his room. He stopped, because there, sitting on the edge of his bed, was his mother.

"Mom?" He said, eyebrows knitting together. "What's wrong?" Jack made his way over to his dresser and pulled out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.

She shifted uncomfortably and looked at him with an unreadable expression on her face. "Jack, you said you were going to tell me why Kim needed to stay here." She replied.

Jack paused at the door of the bathroom before walking in and closing the door slightly to give himself some privacy, but so he could still talk. "Um...her parents are going out of town and I told her that she could stay with us." He slipped on his boxers and gray sweatpants as he answered her. He hoped she couldn't hear his voice rising near the end, hinting at his lie.

He heard her sigh between the crack of the door as he tossed on his t-shirt and walked back out to his room. His mother had an eyebrow cocked at her son. "That doesn't explain why she was in the hospital." She replied. "Jack, I know you're lying. So you might as well tell me the truth."

Jack cursed to himself, running his hands through his dripping wet brown locks. He picked up his abandoned towel from the floor and rubbed it through his hair, somewhat drying it. "She's...been having some family problems..." He mumbled. It was a worse lie then the first one.

He watched as his mom got up from the bed and made her way over to him. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "Honey, tell me what's going on." She said firmly, yet still caring.

"Mom, seriously, it's not a big deal." He replied, exasperated.

For a minute, it was pure silence, and the two, mother and son, just stood there, staring at each other as he waited for her to say something.

Finally, she let out a long breath. "Fine." She didn't really sound like she believed him, but decided to drop it for the moment. She spun on her heel and made her way back over to the door of the room. She paused and turned around to him once more. "I'll find out eventually."

* * *

_I locked eyes with a boy across the room. I watched him curiously as he made his way through the crowds of people over to me.  
_

_"Would you like to dance?" He asked, holding out a hand to me.  
_

_I bit my lip and stared at the hand, contemplating what I should do. Finally, I reached out and tucked my hand into his. "Sure." I replied.  
_

_He smiled at me, a heart melting smile that made my knees go weak beneath me. I walked with him to the dance floor and we got into position. My eyes met with my feet, trying to make them move in the right way with no success. "You look beautiful." The boy suddenly said.  
_

_I looked up and met his eyes once again, blush rising to my cheeks. "You don't mean that."  
_

_He raised his eyebrows at me. "Well of course I mean it, I wouldn't lie to radiant girl such as yourself." Suddenly, I was lifted off my feet and spun around in a full circle. The boy laughed and set me down once again.  
_

_"Thank you." I said, grinning widely at him. He shrugged and we began dancing once again. I managed to trip over my own feet and fall into his chest. I picked myself up and laughed, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I'm not that great of a dancer."  
_

_The boy chuckled. "I think you're doing pretty well."_

_I giggled and shook my head at him. "Okay, now you are lying. I can't dance to save my life and you know it."  
_

_"Alright, maybe I was lying." He replied, trying to hide the smirk on his face. "Here, let me help you. Stand on my toes."  
_

_My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to figure out if he was being serious or not.  
_

_He rolled his eyes at me and picked me up and set my feet on his. I blushed beet red at the closeness of our bodies. He took a few steps, forwards, backwards, to the sides, and I tried to memorize the pattern. Suddenly, he stopped. I looked up into his eyes and realized just how close together we were.  
_

_Our gazes locked and we were in an unbreakable trance. The corners of his lips twitched upwards the slightest bit as he leaned in a few inches. My heart hammered inside my chest as I anticipated what was going to happen next. Our noses brushed, my eyes fluttered closed, waves of heat and desire running through my veins. His hot breath on my lips became too much and I closed the gap between us. Our lips met, sweetly and lovingly, only lasting a few seconds.  
_

_We both pulled away and I bit my lip, trying to the smile growing on my lips. "That was nice." I said, somehow sounding calm.  
_

_The boy laughed. "It was. Now before anything else happens, tell me your name?"  
_

_"Kim." I replied. "Now, what is your name?"  
_

_He grinned and leaned down close to my ear, whispering once single word. "Jack." Then, he kissed a place underneath my ear, sending a warm, pleasant shiver slither down my spine.  
_

_"Jack..." I breathed out as he moved his lips down my neck.  
_

_All of a sudden, the lips were no longer warm and comforting, instead, it was replaced by rough, dry lips. "J-Jack-" I was cut off as he pulled back, but it was no longer a boy standing in front of me, it was a middle aged man. My dad.  
_

_My eyes widened as his lips formed up into a maleficent, crooked smile. "I didn't get to finish what I started." He said in his deep, drunk voice._

_I looked around and realized that everyone else in the room had disappeared. In fact, we weren't even on the dance floor anymore, we were now in a dark, cement room. It was like a dungeon, only I noticed was that there was no door out, only a small, barred window too high for me to jump to.  
_

_My dad chuckled heinously from in front of me. I turned back to him and saw the mischievous smirk in his eyes. Then he moved his hands down my torso, grabbing the bottom of my dress in his lean fingers. My feet felt like they were in quicksand, and with each step I tried to move away from him, I felt myself sinking deeper into his grip. "D-Dad, no." I stuttered out. He lifted my dress up above my waist. Tears flowed from my eyes and freely down my face. "No, no!" I shook my head fiercely and struggled as best as I could in his grip. "Dad! No! No!" The next thing I know, I see my underwear go flying to the other side of the room. I could only watch as my dad reached down to unbuckle his shredded, faded blue jeans. "No! Don't! Dad! Please don't! No! No! No!"  
_

"Kim! Kim, wake up!"

Her eyes shot open and she sat straight up in bed. Her breathing was heavy and her cheeks were cloaked in salty, wet tears. Kim's eyes met with Jack's as he looked at her worriedly.

Without thinking, she lifted her shaking arms and threw them around Jack's neck, pulling him closer to her. He seemed shocked at first, but quickly recovered and wrapped his arms around her slim waist. He held her in a comforting grip, gliding his right hand up and down her back as she sobbed into his neck. Her tears soaked his shirt, but he didn't seem to mind. "Shh, Kim, it's okay. No one's gonna hurt you. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you. You're okay. Everything's okay." He whispered soothingly into her ear. "It was just a dream. It wasn't real. It's all okay. Shh."

"I-It was so real Jack! M-my dad was g-gonna-" Kim was cut off when another petrified sob shook her small form.

Jack pulled her closer to him, their chests pressed together. "It's okay. I've got you. Shh. Don't worry, you're all good." He pulled Kim's legs to the side so she sat on his lap, and he shifted himself so he was leaning back against the bed frame. "Just go back to sleep." He whispered.

Kim looked up at him with terrified, tear filled eyes. "W-Will you s-stay with me?" She asked him.

He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Of course I will."

* * *

Jack was mad. No, he was absolutely and utterly enraged and infuriated. But he couldn't do anything about it with a peaceful sleeping beauty in his arms. He looked down at her, eyes shut tight, face pained, but asleep all the same.

He slowly and carefully moved her off of him and set her on the bed softly. He tucked her under the covers and watched her for a minute. Every once in a while, a tear would fall down her cheek, and each time he moved his hand to wipe it away.

As his thumb caressed her cheek, he stroked her soft, milky skin. An unconscious smile twitched the edges of her lips, making him smile too.

Jack sighed and removed his hand from her face. He placed a gentle kiss on her temple as she turned over onto her side. Then he got up from the bed, still mindful not to make very much noise as he left the room.

He tip toed down the stairs and opened another door, one that lead to the basement. He flicked on a light switch near the bottom of the steps, which illuminated the large, open space. Dark blue mats were placed precisely on the ground in the center of the room, as well as a few punching dummies and other equipment.

Jack had never told anyone, but when he was younger, his grandfather trained him in karate. For six years he had been taught the disciplining art. Then, when he was ten, his grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer, and died after only a few months in the hospital. After that, Jack and his mother were truly alone. No other family members, no family friends, no family. It was only the two left to carry on their family's name.

Jack whipped off his t-shirt and tossed it onto a nearby chair. He walked over to the mats and set up the four punching dummies in front of him. He could feel the rage building up inside him, and he knew if he didn't get it out soon, something bad would happen.

His hands balled into fists and he raised then up. He glared at the dummy and threw out a perfect punch, making it wobble on it's stand.

All of Jack's thoughts came rushing to him at once, hitting him as hard as he was hitting the figure in front of him.

_Look what that damn man did to Kim. Her own father! _Jack thought as he destroyed the dummy. _That bastard BROKE her!_

"HIYA!" Jack did a spin kick and knocked the figure to the floor. Jack moved on to the next dummy.

_He should be dead for what he did! For what he did to the girl I love!_

Jack dismantled the second dummy in a matter of a few hard punches.

_I. Hate. Him. No one humane could ever do that to such an innocent girl and not feel even a touch of remorse about it!_

Jack struck harder, faster, the fury burning painfully through his veins becoming too much for his body to handle. He shouted with every punch, every kick, letting out all that was inside him.

He picked up the figures and set them all on their stands again.

_If I ever-_

He punched the dummy in the chest, where on any person, it would have forced all the air out of their lungs.

_-see that bloody man-_

Jack did another spin kick, this time, sending two dummies to the floor.

_-I will make sure-_

He struck the next figure straight in the face, before giving it a good snap kick to the ribs.

_-that he pays for what he did._

Jack kicked over the last dummy with a loud shout.

His breathing was heavy and stiff, his half-naked body cloaked in a slick sheen of sweat that stuck his dark hair to the sides of his face. His body, obviously overworked and tired, collapsed beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Admittedly, Jack felt better now that he let his anger out on something, though, he wished the dummies were actually Kim's dad. Jack wasn't normally a violent person, but this situation called for it. Her dad deserved to feel pain. The same pain he inflicted upon his defenseless daughter.

_No._ Jack's inner voice said. _Hurting other people won't solve any problems._

Jack sighed and turned around, planning to head back back upstairs, but stopped himself when he saw someone standing there. His mom.

She stood, dressed in her housecoat, her arms crossed over her chest, care and sympathy blazing in her hazel eyes. "What exactly did her dad do to her?" She asked him.

Jack sighed. "How do you know about that?" He replied.

She lifted a single, sculpted eyebrow at him. "Didn't you realize you were saying your thoughts out loud?"

Jack mentally kicked himself in the gut for that. He ran a hand through his tangle, damp hair. "He beat her." He finally voiced. "And tried to..._rape_ her." He managed to get the loathsome word out with great force.

Surprisingly, his mom didn't look shocked like he thought, but instead she looked back at her son with pure affection. "I heard her screaming earlier..."

Jack nodded. "Nightmare." He replied.

He watched as his mom let out a breath, sighing. "I don't want her to go anywhere close to that house. Not until I deal with this. Understand." Jack nodded once again. "Good. She can stay here forever if she has to. Now, since you've let off some steam, go be with her. She needs you, Jack."

"Thank you." He said with a small smile. He tossed his t-shirt back over his head and started back up the stairs with his mom right behind him. The came to the main floor and he turned to her. "Mom...I'm sorry for not telling you earlier. I just...I don't know, I guess I didn't want you to freak out and do something rash, like kick her out..."

She smiled down at her son. "Jack, I would never have done that. So, from now on, you tell me what happens, alright? I promise I won't 'freak out'."

Jack nodded. "'Night mom." He gave her a quick hug before spinning on his heel and running back up the stairs and to the guest room Kim was staying in.

Jack cracked open the door and walked in, tip toeing back to the bed.

"Jack?" He jumped slightly at the groggy voice, and looked to see Kim's eyes fluttering open and she turned towards him.

He slipped in beside her and sat up on his elbow, facing her. "Hey." He whispered. "How you doing?"

Kim sighed. "I heard you leave earlier and I haven't really slept since then. I guess I was just scared."

Jack suddenly felt guilt stab at his heart. "I'm sorry, I just needed to let off some steam." He replied. "But, I'm here now, so you're safe."

"Thank you Jack." Kim said with a smile. "For everything."

Jack smiled back at her. "Come here." He laid back against the bed and opened up his arms for her. Kim giggled lightly and crawled in. She laid beside him, their bodies pressed closely together, as she buried her face in his neck and he wrapped his arm around her slim waist.

Within minutes, the two, both worn out and tired, slipped into the dark nature of peaceful sleep. Little did they know what the future held for them.

* * *

**Wow! Okay, FINALLY finished. That was a LONG chapter! Almost 5,000 freaking words! But, I'm sure you guys didn't mind ;) Did you like Jack's angry side? I know it wasn't much, but this story isn't over yet...;)**

**Anyways, thank you to all you amazing reviewers that keep me going with this story and inspire me. You guys are amazing and I love you all.  
**

**P.S. Once again, I would like some more ideas. It doesn't have to be anything big, like a whole scene or something. It could just be something little, like a word. Just any word that you think I could make something out of with this story.**

**Also, I don't want the people who have given me ideas already to think that I'm not using them, because I AM! Don't worry, I will be using them! I just like different things as well to give me inspiration.  
**

**That's all for now folks :) Have a great summer until I come back with more... :)  
**


	7. I Won't Give Up

**Okay...do you guys realize just how much I love you guys? 43 REVIEWS! FOR ONE CHAPTER! You guys rock soooo much! I love you all! Thank you so much for all the amazing reviews, it really means a lot. But seriously? 43 reviews just for that one chapter! That's almost double the number of reviews then I got for the first chapter! Virtual cookies and hugs for everyone!**

**Haha, alright, onto some real business...No I'm sorry I can't be serious right now :P  
**

**Okay, so this chapter did take me pretty long to write...sorry for that, I had writer's block on it, but I promise you it was worth the wait.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kickin' It or the song Between The Raindrops by Lifehouse.  
**

**Read on...enjoy :)  
**

* * *

The faint sound of birds chirping outside the window was enough to wake Jack from his pleasant slumber. His eyes fluttered open and were instantly filled with a bright ray of sun that had managed to penetrate through a small crack in the dark curtains. Jack sighed and lifted a hand to wipe away the sleep in the corners of his eyes.

He looked down at his chest and found blond hair splayed across his torso. Kim's eyes were shut, her eyelashes brushing the top of her cheekbones. Her pink lips were set in a feeble smile, a soft moan escaping them as she snuggled herself further into Jack's grip.

Jack had an arm wrapped safely around her waist while his thumb stroked the small of her back tenderly. He found himself smiling down at the girl in his arms, and instinctively leaning in to place a delicate kiss on the top of her head.

He sighed as he pulled back. Jack didn't know what it was about her that made him feel so...protective, caring. Perhaps it was simply the way she was so undoubtedly vulnerable, or the way their bodies seemed to fit so perfectly together.

Jack sighed to himself once more. He turned his head and looked at the alarm clock that sat on the bedside table. 6:30 AM.

Jack looked back down at Kim and set his free hand on her shoulder. "Kim..." he whispered as he shook her lightly. "Kim, wake up."

Kim groaned as her eyes fluttered open and she sat up. She rubbed her fists in her eyes as a yawn escaped her throat. She looked over at Jack. "Why did you wake me up so early?" she asked groggily.

"Today's the day." he replied simply.

Realization flashed through her gaze and she groaned, turning away from him. "Right, school."

Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, alright? It's only six hours, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Why do I have the feeling that you totally just jinxed that?" Kim replied.

* * *

Kim gazed nervously at the front doors of the school, which were currently closer to her than she would have liked. Honestly, Kim didn't know exactly why she was so worried, she never really had been before, but she also had no clue what to do about it. "Jack, I don't know if I can do this..." she said, her feet quickly gluing to the spot.

"Kim, just go, you already made it clear that you still don't want anyone to know we're...f-friends-" Jack couldn't help but stumble on the word. It seemed that right now, that word was what was keeping him back from confessing to her right then and there. "-so you have to do this by yourself. But you know I won't take my eyes off of you...except for when we're in our different classes." he mumbled.

Kim sighed. "That's what I'm afraid of." she kept her eyes on the door and forced her left foot forward. Then her right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Walking seemed to take more energy, like she was wading through quicksand and it was getting harder to move by the step.

Finally, she made it to the door of the school. Her right hand reached out and clasped the cool metal handle, while the other was gripping the strap of her backpack tightly between her fingers. She gave the handle a pull and the door flew open, instantly revealing to her the sounds of the students chatting and laughing, that had, before, been contained within the walls.

Kim took a step into the school and quickly, she felt the mocking stares of the other students land on her. She ignored them as best as she could as she walked through the halls and too her locker, but her throat was tightening the deeper she went into the hell hole called school.

She made it to her locker and felt at least some safety wash over her. She tried to control the shaking in her hands as she set all of her things into the small space. When she had finished, she looked around for Jack's familiar brown eyes, and found them half hidden behind one of the large white pillars next to the staircase.

The loud shriek of the bell caused her to jump and clutch her hand to her heart as it raced uncontrollably inside her chest. God, she hated being so scared. She knew it left her ever more vulnerable to others than it ever had before.

Kim closed her locker with a slam and headed off down the hall to her first class.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by surprisingly fast, and before Kim knew it, it was already after school.

She shut her locker door, slinging her bag over her shoulder, and headed down the hall towards the door. The students bumped her shoulders as she walked, which seemed to effect her more than it ever had. Probably because every time someone came within two feet of her, she would instantly tense, half expecting them to jump on her and either beat her up or rape her. She knew it was ridiculous, considering the fact that they were in school, but she couldn't help being scared.

Kim moved her gaze up from the ground to the old oak tree as she realized she was approaching it. But Jack wasn't there.

Kim's eyebrows furrowed. Jack had told her that morning that they would meet at the oak tree outside after school. Then, where was he?

"Well well well, look who we have here." Kim spun around and came face to face with three boys dressed in red uniforms. The boy that had spoken took a step towards her and crossed his arms over his chest, smirking. Across the front of their shirts, in deep black writing, were the words 'Black Dragons'.

The Black Dragons were a karate dojo...a very successful karate dojo. Almost all the students that went there were black belts.

"Leave me alone Frank." Kim tried to sound threatening, but failed miserably. Her voice shook just about as much as her hands did.

"I don't think so." he replied, starting towards her.

He lifted his fist and brought it back. Kim stumbled backwards until she felt the rough bark of the tree hit her back. Frank smirked at her and she couldn't help but cower under his intimidating gaze.

Kim listened to the whoosh of air that told her Frank's hand was flying towards her. She shut her eyes tight and waited for the impact...but it never came.

She reopened her eyes once more in confusion and saw the form of none other than Jack Anderson standing in front of her.

He had Frank's fist clenched in his hand tightly, and Kim could almost see the rage burning in his veins. "You probably shouldn't have done that." Jack hissed at Frank through gritted teeth.

Frank narrowed his eyes at him and removed his fist from Jack's grip. Before anything else could happen, he tossed a powerful kick towards Jack's stomach, but he managed to duck out of the way in time.

Jack, in return, grabbed Frank by the arm and flipped him skillfully over his shoulder. Kim couldn't help but stare at him in complete and utter awe.

Frank looked up at Jack with wide eyes. "Get out of here!" Jack shouted.

Frank scrambled over to his friends, who helped him to his feet and ran away.

Jack turned to Kim and the anger in his eyes instantly disappeared and was replaced with worry. He took Kim's face between his hands and looked her deep in the eyes. "Are you okay?"

Kim nodded, though she was still in awe. "H-How did you do that?" she asked him, amazed.

Jack chuckled. "My grandfather taught me karate when I was younger."

Kim's eyes widened even further if it were possible. "Can you teach me?" she asked.

Jack's face fell. "Kim, are you sure?-"

"YES!" she shouted. "Come on Jack, think about it! If you teach me karate, then I'll finally be able to defend myself!"

"It doesn't just take two days Kim, it takes a while before you'll be good enough." he replied. Then he sighed and smiled. "But you know, with me as your teacher, it might go faster."

"Are you saying you'll teach me?" Kim asked.

"Absolutely." he replied with a grin.

* * *

Kim shot up in her bed, her golden blond locks falling in her face. Her chest heaved up and down with each rapid breath. She sighed, running a hand through her tangled hair. Yet another nightmare.

The nightmare's setting was always different, maybe in a garden, or even in the middle of a fair, but it would always end the same, with her and her dad in a cement closed room, about to be raped. Each time it became closer and closer to it actually happening, and after that last nightmare, she was sure that the next one she had, he'd actually..._rape_ her.

Kim shivered at the thought.

There was absolutely no way she would be able to go to sleep now...at least, not without someone there beside her.

Kim sighed out loud. She hated how always needed Jack around just because of how cowardly she was. He must have been getting annoyed by now, as she woke him up each night with her bloodcurdling screams. This was actually the first time she had managed to control the screaming, and yet, she so badly wanted Jack near her, holding her in his arms, whispering soothingly to her and kissing her forehead.

No, Kim thought. I can't get him again, he could get mad at me.

With another sigh, Kim got up from her bed and slowly made her way to the door of her room. Her hands shook and her eyes kept darting around the room at even the slightest sound that corrupted the deadly silence of the Anderson household.

As soon as she was out into the hallway, her body tensed and chilling shivers crawled up and down her spine. There was a window in her room, that had illuminated the space, even if only slightly, while out here, it was basically pitch black.

Her throat clenched as she closed the door to her room and was instantly devoured by the eerie darkness around her. She leaned against the wall, keeping the palms of her hands pressed against the cool surface, giving herself at least a slight feeling of safety. She crept down the hallway slowly, nervously, just waiting for something to pop out and scare the living grits out of her.

Finally, she found what she was looking for. Kim let out a loud sigh of relief as her hands reached a dip, and the feeling of wood. She searched around for the doorknob, and gripped the cool metal in her hand once she found it. Giving it a twist, the door opened and the cool night air breezed through the hallway. She slipped out the door and onto the balcony, shutting the door silently behind her.

Kim took her bottom lip between her teeth and turned on her heel, now facing the white house. She smiled as she spotted what she was looking for. Kim jumped up and caught hold of a metal handle, hanging off the roof. She hoisted herself up and crawled on the shingles until she was a fair distance away from the edge.

She laid back against the cool, rough rooftop and stared up at the stars. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, almost as if it were a small bird trapped inside her, trying desperately to find a way out.

Her hands shook as beads of sweat coated her palms, dampening them and making them bitterly cold against the chilly breeze making its way across the city.

The nightmare was still fresh in her mind, flashing images chasing around inside her head, causing her to jump at every little sound she heard. The light of the full moon high in the sky shone down over Seaford, giving it a warm, comforting glow.

Kim suddenly remembered a conversation she'd had with her grandmother, when she was younger. Her grandmother was the kindest person Kim had ever met, and helped Kim through her rough life. It was heartbreaking to Kim when she passed away, she was left alone, with no one who truly cared about her, loved her.

"If you ever have a bad time, Kim," Her grandmother had said. "and you just want to get away from the world, I find that singing helps calm the mind."

Kim had been so young then that she hadn't really understood the point of singing, but over the years, Kim had realized that it was her temporary cure. It calmed her and let her escape this hell hole of a world, even if it was only for a few minutes.

Kim hugged her lean arms around her stomach, finding some warmth there, and shut her eyes. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

She then opened her mouth and let the words flow from it in a beautiful melody.

_Look around_  
_There's no one but you and me_  
_Right here and now_  
_The way it was meant to be_  
_There's a smile on my face_  
_Knowing that together everything that's in our way_  
_We're better than alright_

_Walking between the raindrops_  
_Riding the aftershock beside you_  
_Off into the sunset_  
_Living like there's nothing left to lose_  
_Chasing after gold mines_  
_Crossing the fine lines we knew_  
_Hold on and take a breath_  
_I'll be here every step_  
_Walking between the raindrops with you_

_Take me now_  
_The world's such a crazy place_  
_When the walls come down_  
_You'll know I'm here to stay_  
_There's nothing I would change_  
_Knowing that together everything that's in our way_  
_We're better than alright_

_Walking between the raindrops_  
_Riding the aftershock beside you_  
_Off into the sunset_  
_Living like there's nothing left to lose_  
_Chasing after gold mines_  
_Crossing the fine lines we knew_  
_Hold on and take a breath_  
_I'll be here every step_  
_Walking between the raindrops with you_

_There's a smile on my face_  
_Knowing that together everything that's in our way_  
_We're better than alright_

_Walking between the raindrops_  
_Riding the aftershock beside you_  
_Off into the sunset_  
_Living like there's nothing left to lose_  
_Chasing after gold mines_  
_Crossing the fine lines we knew_  
_Hold on and take a breath_  
_I'll be here every step_  
_Walking between the raindrops with you_  
_Between the raindrops with you_  
_Between the raindrops with you_  
_Between the raindrops with you_

Kim finished the last line, her eyes still shut tight, arms around herself, and found herself calm and relaxed.

"That was beautiful."

Kim sat bolt upright to find the source of the voice.

There, a few feet in front of her, sat Jack, a pleasant smile perched upon his lips. "You didn't tell me that you could sing." he said.

Kim bit her lower lip and blushed a deep red. "I-I didn't think I could. I only sing when I'm alone."

"Well, I think you are extremely talented."

"Thanks, I guess." Kim replied. "My grandmother told me that it helps calm the mind when you just want to escape for a while.

Jack nodded and slowly, his smile faded from his face and was replaced by a serious expression. "So, what are you doing up here?"

"Uh...I...uh-I couldn't sleep." She stuttered, her eyes meeting with the dark shingles beneath her.

Jack sighed. "Did you have another nightmare?" she didn't answer, and that was enough conformation for him. "Why didn't you just come get me?" he asked.

Kim still didn't meet his gaze as she replied, "I thought you might be getting sick of me needing you all the time."

Silence.

Kim slowly lifted her gaze to his as he said, "Kim, I could never get sick of you. I want to help you through this."

Kim let out a breath in a huff of air. "You know, when you say it like that, it makes me think that I'm your charity case or something."

"What!" Jack shouted. "Kim, you are NOT my charity case!"

"Then why are you helping me?" She fired back.

He opened his mouth to reply, but shut it once more. "See," she said. "I'm your charity case." she gave him a fake, sad smile and started making her way back down towards the balcony.

Jack let out as a sigh as he realized that it was now or never.

He followed her back into his room, right on her heels. She fast-walked towards the door, but just as she reached for the doorknob, Jack stopped her.

His heart hammered inside his chest as he spun her around and pressed her body up against the wall beside the door. Her eyes were wide with surprise, her chest heaving with the sudden closeness of their bodies. He held her firmly but gently, careful not to scare her.

That's when Jack leaned down and leaned his forehead against hers. He let their noses brush for a second before his control slipped away. His lips met with her soft ones before either of them could realize what was going on. Kim's lips were completely and utterly unresponsive, the shock of it all too much for her to handled.

Jack pulled back after a few seconds and looked her deep in the eyes. "I'm not helping you out of pity, I'm helping you because...well, because...I love you."

* * *

**Bam! What now! How great of an ending was that? Haha, I'm so glad that I finally got this chapter done!  
**

**Once again, thank you guys for all the amazing reviews! It means so much to me when I see all the responses I've received!  
**

**Alright, now I won't promise a certain update date because now that I'm back in school, my schedule is all over the place. But I will update as soon as I can because I love you guys that much (insert heart here).  
**

**Until the next chap, REVIEW and...stay in school! :P  
**


	8. We've Got Tonite

**Yeah, so it's been a while. I'm sorry guys, but I did update. This is the LAST chapter, but this time I'm not going to leave you with a cliffhanger :P This is basically the Epilogue to the story :) IT MAY BE CONFUSING BUT IT WILL MAKE SENSE IN THE END! It DOES NOT pick up from where it left off last time but you will know what happened after Jack told Kim he loved her :) God they are so freaking cute. Why can't they be together already?!  
**

**Anyways, I love you guys so much. Thank you for all the reviews. This chapter is dedicated to all of you loyal followers :)**

**This is not my best chapter but I hope you all still enjoy it! Enjoy :)**

**P.S. I decided to get my butt in gear and finish this chap for you guys because...guess what? I just turned 16! Whoohoo! And this is my birthday present to all you wonderful people :)**

* * *

_Previously on DOTS:_

_Jack leaned down and leaned his forehead against hers. He let their noses brush for a second before his control slipped away. His lips met with her soft ones before either of them could realize what was going on. Kim's lips were completely and utterly unresponsive, the shock of it all too much for her to handled._

_Jack pulled back after a few seconds and looked her deep in the eyes. "I'm not helping you out of pity, I'm helping you because...well, because...I love you."_

* * *

Kim was starting to recover from her hard life as a teenager and moving on to a new, happier life. She became great friends with Jerry, Milton and Eddie and managed to make it through school. She stayed with Jack and his mom until they both graduated High School and they then moved into their own house.

Jack took his and Kim's relationship slow, never pushing her too far or hurting her in any way. For that, Kim was grateful. She was slowly getting better and she knew that one day, when she was ready, they would go all the way.

It took ten years, but on her twenty-fifth birthday, Kim felt normal again. She and Jack had opened up their own karate dojo on the far side of town - since she was apparently a great student, or so Jack said - and it was going crazy with business.

In other words - life for Kim was good.

She drove home from the dojo and was glad to see Jack's truck in the driveway of their three-story house. He had been away on a trip to visit his parents in Las Angeles and she was glad that she would be able to see him again.

She hopped out of the car and climbed the few steps and opened the front door. She way instantly met with the lingering smell of rose petals. On the ground in front of her were, indeed, rose petals scattered around. She closed the door behind her and followed the path of red through the house. She reached the beautiful, open living room and saw Jack standing in the middle of it, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans. He smiled. "Happy birthday, babe."

Kim grinned widely and looked around the room. Roses and petals covering every surface of the white-painted room. "This is beautiful Jack." she walked the few feet between them and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I missed you."

"I missed you too."

Jack smiled nervously before taking out a small box from his pocket. Kim's eyes widened as he moved his position so he was down on one knee in front of her. "Kimberly Anne Crawford, I have loved you since the day I met you, and I will love you until the end of time. You mean the absolute world to me and I would do anything for you. Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife and marrying me?"

Kim was in shock to say the least, her mouth just hung open in surprise and it seemed she just couldn't get the words out. So instead she just began nodding her head frantically. "Y-Yes." she managed to stutter out.

Jack smiled brightly. "Really?" he asked her.

Kim let the tears fall from her eyes. "Yes, Jack, yes I'll marry you."

The next thing she knew, she was caught in a flurry of kisses, which she happily accepted.

* * *

**(M'kay, now here is the part where you find out what happened after Jack said 'I love you' in the last chapter)**

___"I'm not helping you out of pity, I'm helping you because...well, because...I love you."_

_"Y-You...love me?" Kim stuttered quietly._

_Jack nodded._

_Kim gasped._

_Then, she did something she never thought she would do. She got up on her tip-toes and kissed him. To say that Jack was surprised would be a complete and utter understatement._

_He quickly found himself and kissed her back. His hands fumbled as they found the doorknob and he opened up the door. He walked Kim backwards until she fell back against the bed._

_Jack pressed Kim into the softness of the mattress as he leaned down to kiss her. Their lips met in a fiery explosion, hot and hungry for each other. Jack let his tongue slip across her lips, and she almost immediately granted him entrance. Kim moaned as their tongues battled inside their mouths._

_His mouth on hers, the clash of teeth and tongue, turned her on and brought up a heat deep within her stomach._

_She slid her fingers under his dark curling hair, quickly melting as she got lost in the softness. His hands drifted down her side and to her waist, his fingers lightly stroking the sensitive skin at the small of her back._

_The intensity grew between them, like a blaze that started with a single match into a crackling wildfire._

_His mouth came down on hers with bruising pressure, his hands gripping the defiant curve of her hips. Jack then kissed the side of her mouth before continuing to glide his lips closer and closer to the hallow of her neck. When he finally reached it, his tongue poked out of his mouth and circled around the soft skin, causing Kim to bite down on her lip._

_Her father suddenly appeared in her mind._

_Then, she pushed as hard as she could against his shoulders and forced him off of her. She bounced up and off of the bed, and towards the door._

_Jack was off the bed and behind Kim within a matter of seconds, and he gripped her by the waist._

_"Don't hurt me!" she yelled out. "Please, don't hurt me." Her voice was so scared and weak it made Jack's heart sink._

_He pulled her back against his chest and pressed his mouth to her ear. "I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay Kim. It's okay."_

_Her squirming seized and her breathing became normal once again. She turned around in his arms with tears in her eyes. "I-I'm so sorry Jack, I-I don't know what-" a sob took her over and she fell further into his welcoming arms._

_"Shh. It's okay. It's okay. Shh." he whispered as he rubbed her back soothingly. "Come on, let's just go to bed."_

_They made there way to the bed and laid down together. Kim rested her head on his chest and fell quickly into a deep sleep._

_Jack sighed and stroked her hair. "I'm so sorry Kim. I don't know-I-" he cut himself off when he realized she wouldn't even hear him._

_Kim waited until Jack was asleep to slip away from his grip. She'd heard his struggle of words before he'd cut himself off._

_She slipped out of the protective grip of his arms and placed her feet on the cold hardwood floor beneath her. Kim took a last look back at Jack, so innocent and peaceful as he slept._

_Then she turned away from him once more and crept out of the room. Once the door was shut behind her once more, she made her way back to her own room._

_Kim plopped onto her bed and sighed. Jack loved her. He had kissed her. And she'd kissed him back._

_Kim wasn't sure what had happened. One minute she was feeling great, and the next, when he was kissing her throat, all she could picture was her father. Her reaction was almost instinct and soon as she realized what was really going on, she cried. Jack had held her tightly and whispered sweet, calming things to her, and all she could think was Why me? Why did he love me?_

_Kim sat up in her bed suddenly, a surge of confidence taking her over. She stood up and grabbed the phone on her bedside table. She dialled the appropriate number and let it ring._

_"Hello, I'd like to report a crime...Um, my father has been molesting me."_

* * *

Kim shot up in bed suddenly as her alarm clock woke her up from her dream. Or should she say, memory. She couldn't help but let a smile play onto her lips. Jack had literally saved her from her life, and for that she was so very, absolutely grateful. She loved him, and she knew, when he looked her in the eyes, that he loved her right back.

Kim's bedroom door burst open and Grace, Kelsey, Julie and Mika came into the room. Kim had become good friends with Grace and Kelsey in college. The other three girls she had met through the guys. Julie was Milton's girlfriend, Mika was Jerry's, and somehow, Grace ended up with Eddie. Kelsey wasn't ready to settle down with anyone yet and was perfectly fine being single.

"Kim, get your lazy ass out of bed before I make you!" Grace thundered.

Kelsey nodded in agreement. "It's your wedding day and it's going to take hours to make you look like bride-material."

Kim rolled her eyes and hopped out of bed. "How was Jack's night?" she asked curiously.

Julie shrugged. "Not sure, Milton didn't say anything to me this morning before I left."

Mika groaned. "Alright, enough chitchat!" her odd accent shined through her words. "Kim we only have a few hours to get you and ourselves ready, so let's go!"

The next few hours consisted of hairspray, curling irons, hair clips, make-up and a beautiful glittery dress.

Kim opened the door from her bathroom and walked out into her room, watching as all the girls gasped. "Oh my god Kim. That dress is beautiful!" Kelsey cried.

Kim walked over to the large, full-length mirror on the other side of the room and analyzed herself. The dress she wore was a ball-gown, one shoulder dress with a smooth train and a few ruffle flowers here and there. All in all, Kim felt beautiful.

She looked at her hair, which was down in waves the caressed her the soft shape of her face and continued down her back. The two front pieces were pinned up behind her head loosely with a diamond clip. Her make-up was done to absolute perfection and she thought she could almost be a princess.

Eat your heart out, Kate Middleton.

Kim smiled confidently and turned back to the girls who were still gushing over how pretty she looked. "Do you think Jack will like it?" she asked.

Julie scoffed. "Are you kidding? He's going to probably die at the altar when he sees wearing that."

"I'm so nervous." she admitted to the others.

Mika smiled at her. "Don't worry Kim, we'll here the whole time. You're our best friend."

Then, there was a light knock on the door. Jerry poked his head inside and smiled. "Wow, Kim, you look great."

Kim blushed. "Thanks, Jer."

"I came up to tell you girls that we'll be ready to walk in twenty minutes, so you'd better get ready. I'll be waiting out here." he gestured towards the hallway just outside the door before leaving once more.

Thankfully, the other girls were already ready, and just did touch-ups on their make-up and hair for the remainder of the time.

They gave Kim last minute kisses on the cheek before rushing out the door to do their part on the aisle. Kim took a deep breath and followed, walking with Jerry down the stairs and to the door.

"You nervous?" Jerry asked quietly as Kim wrapped her arm around his.

Kim nodded and gulped. "Very." she replied. "How's Jack?"

Jerry chuckled. "He's fine Kim. Though, he missed you like hell last night."

Kim giggled and looked out the door. "I guess it's our turn." she whispered.

"Let's go." Jerry lead her out the door and began down the aisle with Jerry at her side. Since her father wasn't around, they had decided it would be Jerry to hand her off to Jack.

Kim's eyes locked with Jack's across the yard.

Right foot. Left foot.

Jack smiled and his jaw dropped in shock as he saw her.

Right foot. Left foot.

Kim felt herself stumble in her steps, but luckily, Jerry gripped her arm tighter and no one noticed.

Right foot. Left foot.

Kim's heart was beating a mile a minute in her chest. This was it. She was really going to get married to Jack.

Right foot. Left foot.

They were there. Jerry took Kim's hand and placed in Jack's, who leaned down and pecked the back quickly.

Vows were said, kisses were shared, and sooner than Kim thought, everyone was dancing. Jack had her gripped at the waist, while her arms were tangled around his neck. They swayed back and forth to the slow beat of the music.

"I can't believe we're married." Kim breathed, shaking her head and letting out a laugh.

Jack chuckled. "I know. It's like a dream." he leaned down and gave her a long, passionate kiss on the lips.

"Eww! Get a room!" Jerry shouted.

Jack and Kim turned just in time to see Mika whack him over the head. "Shut up, idiot! It's their wedding day!"

Grace came running over to Jack and Kim and gripped Kim's hand. "Come on, we have to get you changed. Almost time for your honeymoon." Grace waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Kim rolled her eyes before giving Jack and quick peck and letting Grace lead her back into the house. Grace had her changed in minutes into a more casual, light blue dress. She met Jack at the bottom of the stairs and the two walked down the walkway, getting showered with rice as they made their way to the car. They both hopped in as the driver drove to the hotel they were staying at.

The drive was silent, and Kim couldn't help but smile, knowing what she was going to let him do tonight. It was a surprise, and she couldn't wait to see the reaction he was going to have to her news.

They pulled up to the fanciest hotel in Seaford and hopped out. Jack grabbed their two small suitcases while Kim went in to get the room key. Once they made it to their room, Jack placed the suitcases against the far wall. While his back was turned, Kim took the opportunity to wrap her arms around his torso and began undoing the buttons of his suit.

"Kim, what are you doing?" Jack asked hesitantly. He turned around and she continued with the buttons one by one.

Kim bit her lip. "I'm ready."

Silence.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

Kim nodded. "I'm ready." she repeated. "I love you Jack, and I want to be with you in every single way I can. You've been so patient with me and I really appreciate that."

Jack gulped against the lump forming in his throat. "A-Are you sure?"

Kim got up on her tip-toes and leaned in towards his ear. "Yes." she replied sexily. She pushed the unbuttoned shirt off his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. Her hands started exploring his chiseled and definite torso, causing him to let out a low, husky groan of pleasure.

"I love you Kim." Jack breathed.

Kim smiled. "I love you too Jack."

Within minutes, their clothes were on the floor and they were tangled in the bedsheets, and made love through the first wonderful night of marriage.

* * *

**Holy chiz. K, I wanted to write some...dirty stuff in there, but I didn't want to have to change the rating, so this is y'all get :P Hope you liked it!**

**I know it wasn't the best, but I really just needed to get this story done. Don't get me wrong, I love this story with all of my heart, but I was having major writer's block so I decided that going right to the epilogue was the best idea.**

**If you have any suggestions for stories for this couple, let me know and I'll try my best to do something with it :)**

**You guys have been amazing reviewers and I'm sorry I have to end it so early. I just hope that you can all forgive me. You guys mean the world to me and I love all of you (insert heart here).**

**Have a great rest of the school year and look out for further stories for Kick, but I will never stop writing for them.**

**Lots of Love,**

**Mickey Rae :)**


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